The Hikari Ghost
by neko-nya
Summary: As promised, 14 year old Satoshi gets to move into the Hikari mansion, but he wasn't aware of the ghost residing there... DaixSat DarkxKrad
1. Prologue

The Hikari Ghost

Prologue:

Hikari Satoshi had officially turned fourteen. And just as his mother had promised him, he was going to live in his old house. The Hikari Mansion. Unfortunately for him, his mother couldn't accompany him for his first month or two seeing that his father was off on another big business trip and she was to go with him.

He didn't really mind though, he was quite used to the solitude. His parents were rarely around anyways. Father being a wealthy business man, mother being the heiress of the famous Hikari bloodline. All in all, it made him both a very fortunate and unfortunate boy. Fortunate in the sense that he had all the money in the world along with a beautiful house that he was to both live in and inherit from his mother. But at the same time, he was unfortunate in the sense that people around him were driven by greed, only reaching out a helping hand when they saw it to their own benefit. He had to learn that lesson the hard way.

* * *

It wasn't until he moved to a new school where less people knew of his title. People like Niwa Daisuke for instance. The day he arrived at the school and into his class, the redhead had been the first to smile and introduce himself. Of course he'd been suspicious of it at first, and it wasn't until he was introduced to the redhead's other friend, Dark, that he began to relax.

The words, _"Who? What? Hikari? Who are they? Or she…is she attractive? Unless it's a guy, then is **he** attractive? Though he or she probably still won't be able to compare to me in attractiveness, right?"_ seemed to both amuse him and anger him beyond rage. While he felt somewhat insulted that they hadn't heard of his family before, somehow, at the same time, he felt relieved. They seemed genuine. After all, there was no way anyone could act that stupid and clueless.

"The Hikari…" he had begun until he was interrupted by the smaller boy.

"Weren't they artists?"

He nodded, anger ebbing away while Dark gave a shrug, "Artists, attractive women, attractive men, same thing."

"How so?"

"It's all connected one way or another, you know? Artists _draw_ _attractive ladies_, or artists _are_ attractive ladies, or artists draw attractive men or they _are_ attractive men...maybe they're attractive women drawing attractive men or maybe they're-"

"Whatever…"

* * *

Over time, as they got to know each other better, Daisuke had seemed genuinely surprised at how he had been treated in other schools while Dark shook his head almost sympathetically before hopping off to buy/mooch lunch off of random people. Through his charm, the boy could obtain almost anything to his desire. He had learned about the Niwa family, their long line of spiritual beliefs and supernatural abilities, passed on from generation onto the next generation. It surprised him to learn that Daisuke himself was a medium, possessing the skills of those before him. Though not a professional yet, the redhead could already do quite a few things with his present skill, or so Dark claimed.

As for Dark, it seemed that before him, his family remained hidden and unknown until his first known ancestor began to steal. At first, it began with small things like medical supplies, presumably sold off for money. But as it moved on through generations it soon became artwork and jewelry, and then the long line of wealthy never-to-be-caught thieves had led to Dark. Dark's dream was to become a famous thief, more so than any of his ancestors. It was a surprise how he had yet to be caught shoplifting from expensive stores that held nothing but overpriced items. He proclaimed that he was going to move onto jewelry stores next, and his ultimate goal was to steal a priceless piece of art and forever be known.

And as for himself, he explained how his family had gone through generations of nobility filled with wealth and prosperity. Most of his family consisted of artists who painted countless numbers of art, all different in some way and so beautiful it'd easily steal someone's breath away. Satoshi explained that when he was to turn fourteen, he would move into the traditional Hikari household, filled with art and exquisite furniture, fully decorated from top to bottom. Every time he spoke of it, he could feel excitement and impatience stirring within him.

* * *

That was then, this was now.

So there he was, standing in front of the large mansion, in the middle of summer a little after his birthday. It looked just like he had seen the photographs his mother had shown him, though it still wasn't any competition compared to seeing it in real life. "Wow…" His breath was caught in his throat as he stared past the gate.

His mother stepped out of the car behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Satoshi nodded mutedly as the gates opened and they walked down the path towards the main entrance. All the gardens still perfectly kempt. Stepping through the gate to him felt like walking from reality into a world of fantasy. And as they stepped through the large oak doors with steel ornament knockers on it, he gave a silent gasp.

He was greeted by the sight of railings of the floor above which was connected to a set of stairs which split two ways to either side, floors covered in red carpet and rugs, walls decorated with art. A large ancient chandelier hanging above them. He stared in amazement, frozen to the spot. The main hall, the grand hall where parties have been hosted, an old clavichord laid around the far wall, untouched for years. There was a light tug from his mother as she led him around, showing him the large kitchen which had been restocked over the last few days for his stay and new equipment to use for cooking. The dining room consisted of a large table with carved wooden chairs around it, soon to be complemented by fine china dishes and the aroma of food once more.

Then she led him to the library, filled with books of all sort, most of the walls were covered with bookshelves much to his delight. There was a couch with a nightstand beside it, new lamp placed there for him. "I imagine you'll enjoy this room very much. Your grandfather enjoyed reading a lot too, you resemble him in so many ways it's absolutely adorable."

After finishing the first floor, she lead him up the stairs and showed him all the guestrooms, studies, and the master chamber. Each room he looked at was more exquisite than the previous. The master chamber made him gape. There were large windows, opened to allow cool breezes through, ruffling the opened, soft blue curtains. A large bed stood there, canopy and all, new sheets placed over it, ready to be used. "Do I get to…sleep in here?"

She smiled softly, "If you want, though I have a feeling you'll be sleeping in the library a quite few times."

"Do you think I can invite a couple friends over? Seeing that it's summer break and all…"

Blue eyes shimmered happily, "Of course you can! By all means, please do. You can call the staff from our house down to help if you need."

Outside, the car honked. "Sounds like father's waiting for you."

She nodded and gave him a soft kiss on the head, "Take care Satoshi, and have fun."

He nodded as she let go, "You too."

Before she left the building, she turned back with a slightly sadder smile, "Satoshi…please, be kind to him."

* * *

Nya

New fic! I was planning to write this other one first but thenI got stuck and since school was killing me just ever so softly, I found that I could write this one and so I did. XD Yes...Satoshi's parents are alive :O by parents I mean Rio and Kei, no Kei isn't a villain (for once). Errr...enjoy! I wish I lived in a mansion like that XP Hopefully I'll get next chapter up soon (soon as in actually very soon!)


	2. Chapter 1

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 1:

"_Please, __be __kind __to __him."_

What she had meant by that, he didn't understand. He spent the first few days feeling rather happily, picking random books from the shelves to read, sleeping in, in that very comfortable bed in the master chamber, and cooking for himself whenever he pleased. He loved the place, surrounded by art which he admired silently with each step he took, and the mix of old and new atmosphere that filled the house.

It wasn't until a couple days after that he began to realize there was someone else aside from him residing in the house.

At night he awoke to the sound of footsteps heading down the corridor, the random sigh and the ruffling of clothes. Of course he got out of bed to investigate only to have all the activity suddenly stopped. And when that happened, he merely shrugged it off and headed back to bed. Then when the next night came, this time instead of footsteps, he heard the clavichord keys go down, filling the house with a soft melody. This time he ignored it, believing it to be his imagination playing tricks on him and went back asleep without giving it another thought.

* * *

When he awoke again, it was already morning. He headed down to find the dust on the instrument undisturbed. Satoshi shook his head with a sigh, "I should get more sleep…"

Over the next few days, the activities began to regulate. Very often, he would catch a figure moving from the corner of his eye and turned around only to find nothing there. Then there were the breezes, soft and gentle, sometimes cold, sometimes warm. They'd blow softly against him and when he checked the window, they'd be closed. He took them to be signs of whatever it was that lived there with him and accepted the disturbances easily. But the thing he couldn't ignore was the soft scent of vanilla that seemed to float in and out every now and then. It was a sweet scent, it felt almost…gentle. He had took a walk through the gardens, not a single flower there that smelt of vanilla.

The being, as Satoshi had dubbed it, became more active during the night time. He'd hear footsteps pacing about, sighs, the occasional cough, and pots clanking in the kitchen. Taps turning on and off wasn't all that unusual either. And as for the occasional clavichord playing, he couldn't honestly say he minded since it was quite a beautiful tune that was played on the ancient instrument. It ended up lulling him to sleep most of the times. Lights flickered on and off everywhere except for where he was sleeping, almost like a sign of courtesy.

Sometimes, in the morning he'd head to the library to find a book lying around, ready for him to read, or equipment moving about, ending up in different spots in the kitchen. Flowers he'd never seen before would be placed in random placed in the house. At first, he figured they were from the garden, but when he ventured outside, he found that none of the plants matched the flowers in the house nor did anything show signs of having been picked. Furniture moved too. The only thing that remained untouched was the art. The 'being' never messed about with the paintings or the sculptures around the place. The fine china dishes had moved once in awhile, but the art remained as they were when he first arrived. It was almost as though it had a sense of appreciation for art. Satoshi had once accidentally bumped into a painting causing it to tilt a bit, the next day he found it straightened again.

He could live with it, it was nothing he couldn't handle. It wasn't until he found a breath mark on a window with a handprint on it that he decided to call up his friends. Somehow, it didn't feel quite the same as the usual being that he felt around the house. It felt...colder.

* * *

When Daisuke arrived with Dark, the first thing he asked was, "Do you have someone over?"

Blue eyes blinked at the unexpected question, "No…why?"

He pointed upwards, "There was someone watching us from a window upstairs, he looked quite surprised to see us. It looks like he's gone now…"

Satoshi raised a brow, he felt himself shudder, "What did he look like?"

The redhead gave a frown as he contemplated, "He was pretty tall, he had long gold hair, gold eyes I think and he looked really pale."

"He?"

"Yea, it was a he alright."

So the being was a he…

"That's great and all, but are we going to stand here all day?" The eldest of the three chirped impatiently.

"Oh, right, of course. Come on in."

Dark stepped in without a second thought and gawked at the place, "Whoa, this place is huge!"

"Yea, don't break anything. Or steal anything for that matter."

The violet haired boy looked back with a grin, "Just because you're our friend, I won't steal anything here."

"Good." Daisuke looked around, Satoshi blinked, "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh…no, nothing's wrong."

"Okay…are you guys hungry?"

"You bet! I wanna see if your kitchen is as big as I imagine it to be!"

The two headed off while the redhead continued standing there and watching something, the blue haired boy turned around, "Daisuke, let's go."

He looked over and almost reluctantly headed over, "Alright…"

* * *

That night, he had asked them if they had wanted to stay the night, and Dark of course, spoke gleefully for the two of them, "Of course!" The answer really wasn't unexpected, Dark Mousy loved anything fancy and being surrounded by such 'fancy' things was like a dream come true to him. "When I'm a rich and famous thief, I'll make sure I get a house just like this if not better."

"Yea," Satoshi scoffed, "good luck with that, you'll be needing plenty of it."

"Who needs luck when they've got _skills?"_

"What skills? All you have is dumb luck."

Dark shrugged it off, "So which room do I get?"

"Whichever one you want."

"Even the-"

"No, not the master chamber."

The boy pouted, "Fine…" He made a dash up the stairs into the second largest room before calling out to the two of them, "Hey, what's in the closet? It's locked."

"I don't know, probably clothes." He muttered as he walked up the stairs and headed into the room with the redhead behind him.

"Oh well…I'll picked the lock, just hand me a paperclip."

"No."

Dark pouted once more, "Why not?"

"I don't want you going through all this stuff, anyways, I haven't seen a single paperclip around the house."

"Oh…that's too bad…I'll have to pick it next time I come."

Satoshi's eyes narrowed, "There won't be a next time."

"You're too cruel…fine, I'll leave the closet alone. Now if you'll be so kind as to leave me to my beauty sleep."

"He needs it badly…" Satoshi muttered as they headed back into the hallway, closing the door behind them. Daisuke picked the room beside the master chamber, the two spoke their goodnights and went to sleep.

* * *

Dark ended up staying up for a bit later, out of curiosity, he walked over to the closet and tried to look into the slit. There was something inside and it was glittery, reflecting the dull light that was given off the lamp on his nightstand. Pulling his lips taunt, he promised himself, "…I _will_ bring a lock pick next time…"

Much later that night, the black and white clavichord keys were struck once more into a beautiful tune. Unused to the sound, Dark awoke and headed out of his bedroom, walking down the hallway towards the railings. He looked down into the main hall. "Nnn? Is someone there?" He mumbled sleepily. The pale figure at the instrument immediately stopped. Wide golden eyes looking up in surprise as he disappeared. Dark blinked before looking around, feeling a little more awake now, "…great, I'm sleep walking _and_ hearing things…" Still half asleep, he wasn't fully aware of a presence leading him back to his room.

* * *

When morning came, Satoshi was first to wake up, then Daisuke, then Dark, who managed to drag his feet down the stairs without tripping, but not before he took a long look at the clavichord, "…that was a bizarre dream…"

The second he walked into the kitchen Satoshi cut him off before he could utter a word of greeting or anything else for that matter, "Breakfast is in dining room, we're already done, hurry up and eat it before it gets cold."

He grinned, "Thanks, love you too, hon."

The boy then chucked a spoon at the other.

Hitting him right on the head.

Just as he had intended to.

"Ow…" He rubbed his injured head and dragged his feet into the dining room where the other boy was, "Hey Dai-chan…Dai-chan?"

Red eyes blinked and looked up, "Morning Dark."

"You seem to be out of it today…"

"Do I?"

"I wouldn't be saying just for the hell of it, now would I?"

"Well you _are_ Dark…"

"That I am."

Then Satoshi walked in, "You shouldn't be too proud of that. Daisuke, can I talk to you? Privately…"

The thief rolled his eyes and began to eat his breakfast, "Fine…exclude me. Don't go and do anything inappropriate now, you hear me?"

* * *

They stepped into the main hall, "Satoshi? What is it?"

"You know, don't you?"

Daisuke stole a glance at the piano-like instrument, "You mean about 'him'? Yea…"

"Figures…Dark's the only one who didn't figure it out yet, not all that surprising actually…"

The redhead laughed, "Is that why you asked me to come here?"

Satoshi gave a small nod, he felt quite stupid for requesting what he was about to but oh well… "One of the reasons. I was wondering if you'd do a reading of the house or something…if you want, I just want to figure out who 'he' is."

Daisuke smiled and nodded, "Of course, this would be good practice. At least mom won't be able to say anything about me slacking off during summer now."

Then Dark burst through the door, "Dai-chan? You're doing a reading? Is this place haunted or something? Cool!"

Blue eyes twitched, "You were eavesdropping?"

"Whatever, eavesdropping, accidentally overhearing, same thing. Does it matter? Daisuke's doing a reading?"

"That's right…"

Violet eyes sparkled with interest, "So there's a ghost in this place?"

Satoshi frowned, "I'm guessing…?"

Dark felt himself shiver slightly with excitement, it had only happened a couple times where the redhead would perform a reading and each time was better than the last. "Dai-chan?"

The redhead nodded, "There's a ghost alright…actually…" he pointed to the railing right of the stairs, "you can't see him but he's standing over there and watching us right now…"

* * *

Nya

Shiza! It's snowing! XD XD XD -very happy- Daisuke's gonna do a reading, I'm going for the more or less realistic way of doing readings :P Now we all know who the ghost is! You'll find out more about him next chapter XD As for the Rio and Kei note...hmmm let's just say that they're Satoshi's real parents (Rio is) and let's just say they're alive and well and not corrupted by power or anything okay? Okay :) Shipow! Sorry, just wanted to randomly say that XP


	3. Chapter 2

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 2:

The two stared at where the redhead was pointing, "Are you serious?"

Daisuke nodded, "It's the same person I saw yesterday at the window." Then he broke out into a smile, "Anyways, let's start at the beginning shall we? He's not here to hurt anyone from what I can tell."

The other two nodded uneasily and headed into the dining room, "So…what are we doing in here?"

Satoshi frowned, "There's only _one_ ghost around here right?"

"Well only one that seems to be an individual all the others just seem like, how can I say this…background? They're mainly just reenacting what they did here or events that has happened before, like a recording or something."

He drew an empty stare from the other two, "Dai-chan…you do realize that you lost us since…you said individual and others…"

"Umm…how do I put this? For example…" He pointed at the table, "This place, this room used to be the servant's quarters, not a dining room. They used to dine in the main hall."

The blue haired boy blinked, "Servant's quarters?"

"Yes, a couple centuries back I'd say, the servants were pretty happy here, I can hear chattering," he paused, "actually…it's more like gossip between maids, I can hear 'Hikari-sama' being mentioned a lot. You can probably hear them whispering every now and then."

Dark nudged the other boy, "See, I told you he was good."

"I never argued about that."

The thief paused before letting otu a huff, "Well, maybe you should've."

"I don't think _he's_ the only spirit person here though…there are others, but they're not grounded here like he is. They come here on….visitation let's jsut say. I can't really pick up on any of them right now, probably because I'm not as experienced, if it was my mother, she'd be able to detect them right away…"

"What? You mean there are more of them here?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "Why are you acting all freaked out? It's not _your_ house that's haunted."

"Well I'll be staying here for awhile won't I?"

"I thought you were used to this, what with you being his friend for all these years and stuff."

"Who said I was used to it? It's a hard concept to 'get used to'! Besides, we rarely get to stay at a haunted house, and his mom handles all the really crazy cases."

"You guys…" Daisuke gave a small smile, "he's watching you right now, I think he's amused."

The two yelped and jumped back, Satoshi frowned, "Who is 'he' exactly? I want a name…if you can."

The shorter boy gave another nod, "He's a Hikari, that's getting through very clearly, and he's dressed very richly anyways…" he paused, "I can't get the other half of his name, he doesn't feel like giving it freely apparently."

Blue eyes blinked, "You mean he talks to you?"

Daisuke shook his head, "He could…but he isn't, he's showing me pictures and symbols. I guess he's stronger at night, maybe he'll talk later…if I were more experienced I could probably get him to, oh well, too bad, hm?"

* * *

Next, they headed into the main hall, Dark looked in the direction his friend was staring at, "The piano?"

"It's a clavichord you moron, can't you see the black and white are inverted?"

The violet haired boy huffed, "You mean that it looks weird? Yea I noticed. I had the weirdest dream last night…someone was playing the piano-"

"Clavichord."

"Whatever, it stopped the second I saw it."

"That's not surprising…this clavichord was a gift…to his family? It was given while he was still alive."

Satoshi rubbed his temples, he could tell they were all growing weary, "I guess we can continue this later?"

The three of them nodded in agreement, Daisuke paused, "Wait…he just said something…he was directing this to Dark I think."

Amethyst eyes blinked curiously, "To me? Why? Well, what'd he say?"

"You've changed…"

"What?"

Daisuke raised a brow at the elder boy, "You've changed, that's what he said."

The thief looked visibly shocked, "W-what? But I don't even know him! How the hell does he know _me_?"

Satoshi gave him a not so sympathetic pat on the back, "You can find out later tonight, hm?"

The thief stared at him, "Why not now? He's still around isn't he? You know…this would be funnier if I didn't know you were actually psychic and stuff. Unless you're playing a joke on me…again, it's still not funny. How could he know me? I've never been here before!"

"I'm not joking this time Dark, he seems to know you. I guess we'll find out more later. Isn't this great? Building up the suspense and all."

"This is cruel and inhuman, just like you, building up the suspense at my expense, for shame, you jerk!"

* * *

"What are you doing?"

The redhead looked up from the book he was reading, "Not much, just reading. Your library is filled with your family's history, did you know that?"

He nodded, "I've only read a couple of these books so far, it'd take me years to finish all these…"

Daisuke laughed, "You're the fastest reader I know, too. I wonder if the books are in any particular order."

"They are. They're sorted chronologically, starting from there." He pointed to one side of the room, "And the first ones start from there I think. What are you doing in here anyways?"

"Hm? Partly to get away from Dark and his repetitive questions, and partly because I'm not sure, there seems to be something about this room that calls to me. I have no idea what it is yet though. I think I'll figure it out sooner or later. But for now, it's mainly an escape from Dark."

The two exchanged smiles at this.

* * *

Later that night, Daisuke looked around, "Don't worry, this is safe, I've done this before."

"…are you sure?"

"Don't you trust me, Dark?"

The older teen paused, unsurely, he answered, "Sure I do."

"Then stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying!"

"Then why are you chewing on your finger?"

Dark gave a start and turned around to find Satoshi standing there, "Gods, you're so creepy! How do you always end up behind me without me noticing? You know I hate it when you do that!"

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "You're ranting again…and you say you're not nervous."

"I'm not! It's just little habits of mine!" There was a drop in temperature, causing him to turn to his friend nervously, "…Daisuke?"

The redhead looked around, addressing someone the other two couldn't see. "Can you hear me? Just knock or something if you can." Almost immediately there was a reply causing the other two to jump in surprise.

The blue haired boy looked around, "Where's the knocking coming from?"

"I don't know, it sounds like it's coming from all over…you look around, I'll just stay here by Dai-chan…"

"There's no need, you probably won't be able to locate the source of the knockings anyways." He turned his attention back to the matter at hand, "Please, if you can, knock twice for yes, do you understand?"

Two taps were heard, icy blue eyes scanned the room to see no one but them standing around. "Ask him if he died here or around here." Another two knocks were made causing Satoshi to blink a couple times.

"I guess that answers your question…" Dark grinned, "You got scared, didn't you?"

"Shut up, at least I'm not the one clinging to Daisuke."

"I'm not clinging! Clinging's for girls! And I'm not scared!"

"I didn't say you were."

"Well I'm not!"

Satoshi huffed, "Fine, if you're _not_ scared, then _you _ask a question."

Never being one to back down from a challenge, "fine, maybe I will!" He paused and looked around uncertainly, "uhh…were you killed?"

"You couldn't have thought of a more cliché and inconsiderate question."

"Shut up! I'm curious!"

Two knocks, Daisuke frowned, "Well there's _your_ answer…you were a Hikari weren't you?"

There was silence, then a soft tap was heard followed by more silence, "Dai-chan, what does this mean? Usually there's only to answers to a yes or no question, and that's yes or no."

"Thank you for informing us of that, we would've never guessed."

"Quiet, you creep."

The redhead scratched his head, "This hasn't happened to me before…I guess it's more complicated than just a yes or no thing. I guess I'll have to try something else to get answers since he doesn't seem to want to talk…"

"Well is he doing anything at all? I mean we can't see so you'll have to fill us in-and what did he mean by I've changed? You still haven't answered my question."

Daisuke looked at the far wall, "I would if I could, I know you're getting impatient, not that you had any patience to start with, but he's just kind of standing around. I don't think he knows what to do either. The only thing I can really do now is try to get him to show me something."

The elder boy sighed and sat down with his legs crisscrossed, "Go for it…why does it have to be so complicated? Why can't he just talk?"

"He's shaking his head at you, you know? It's almost as though something bad would happen if he talked."

Thumping his fists against the ground, he let out a whine, "I don't care! I just want to know how the hell he knows me!"

"Wow Dark…"

"What?"

Daisuke looked down, "I think you convinced him to talk…"

Amethyst eyes blinked, "What? How?" The redhead shook his head in silence, Dark made a noise in annoyance, "I just want to know why this ghost is here right now…"

"_Waiting__…__"_

Both Dark and Satoshi looked over at the change in Daisuke's voice, almost immediately they realized it wasn't their friend that was speaking. Crimson eyes were too dull to be his, too sad, too…timeless. And his normally cheery voice had softened to a whisper, full of longing and sorrow. The blue haired boy was the first to regain his voice, cautiously he asked his possessed friend, "Waiting? …for who?"

The redhead looked over, dull eyes meeting their own, _"My __everything__…__"_

* * *

Nya

Would you believe it? Other than the fact that there's another update (le gasp!), I actually ended up watching documentaries on ghosty stuff to figure out how they communicate with ghosts without having to do all that seance stuff :O It was very interesting, I just had a brain cramp so I'll stop. Enjoy :)


	4. Chapter 3

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 3:

"_My __everything__…__"_

Dark stood up, "What? Who's your everything?"

But it was too late, Daisuke blinked and regained control of his body, "He's gone."

"You knew he took over your body? Strange, I always thought it'd be like the movies…you know, where they're all unaware and stuff."

The redhead shook his head, "You only wish, I gave him permission. I did find something out though."

Violet eyes looked at his friend, "What'd you find out?"

"The reason why he won't talk."

This caught his attention, "And why is that?"

"Something about not wanting to do anything too drastic, in case it catches _his_ attention and how it'd be bad if it did."

"Who's _he_?"

"I didn't have enough time to ask."

"Damn…"

Blue eyes looked over, "Well Dark…you seem to be awfully interested in the ghost all of a sudden. Why the sudden change of heart?"

He gave a shrug, "…yea, I have no idea why myself, but there was a little click in the back of my head. Cool, no? It's just like in the movies. Actually, this whole thing's like a movie really, the only problem is that this isn't a movie."

"Right…" The owner of the house rolled his eyes, "I think someone hasn't gotten enough sleep, let's go to bed."

"Good idea…"

Dark headed up the stairs and into his borrowed room, he looked at the locked closet and snorted, "It'd be easy to just go and pick that lock already…" Doing his best to take his mind off of it, he turned the lights out and crawled under the covers, his eyes closing as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_He looked around, his settings were familiar, to a certain extent, it was more like a little nagging voice in the back of his head, as usual. Walking around aimlessly down the empty corridor, he could faintly make out voices talking to one another softly. He leaned in to hear them better, eyes widening at what he heard._

"…_if __you __have __nothing, __then__…__then __I'll __be __your __everything__…__"_

* * *

Violet eyes opened groggily, "What the hell was that about?" He sat up and wondered vaguely what the last chick-flick he watched was and why he dreamt of it. Shaking his head and clearing his head of the thought, he got out of bed and headed down into the kitchen. "Mornin'…"

Satoshi didn't bother looking up. Instead, he looked at his watch and shook his head in disapproval, "Morning my ass, it's already way past noon, you idiot."

He gave a sleepy glare at the other, "Don't call me an idiot, you creep. Where's Dai-chan?"

"In the library."

Dark gave an exasperated sigh, "Again? Still trying to get that ghost to talk? I swear, ever since that day, every time I wake up, he's in there trying to get that ghost person to talk. Will he never give up?"

Blue eyes looked over at the other, "No…well maybe, I mean, I wouldn't know whether he was talking to the ghost or not, but the last time I checked he was reading."

"Oh…" He shuddered slightly, rubbing his arm lightly, "I hate that room."

Satoshi raised a brow, "Why? Too many books in there for your liking?"

Dark shook his head, "No, for your information, reading isn't _that_ bad for me. But that's not it, it's just a feeling. Like something's not right, I'm not sure whether it's the room or something in the room, but either something in there isn't good or something in there isn't as it's supposed to be. Call it Dark's intuition, you wouldn't understand."

"There's food on the table." The blue haired boy headed out of the room and grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his temples, "Great…he's turning into a woman now." He stepped into the library to find the redhead still reading, he walked up next to the other, "Find anything interesting?"

Daisuke looked up from his book and smiled at his friend, "Not really, I mean nothing that's connected to the ghost. Is Dark awake yet? I heard someone stomping around and complaining rather loudly awhile ago."

"I see, well yes, when he's awake, the whole world has to know about it…did you know Dark's turning into a woman?"

Ruby eyes looked over both startled and amused, "What?"

Satoshi shook his head again, honestly, Dark could be so troublesome at times, "He's got this Dark's intuition thing going on."

The redhead laughed, "That's Dark for you, it's like he can't decide between the two. But that's okay, we're all used to it. I mean he _is_ Dark, it's only normal for him to be like that or else he wouldn't be defined as _Dark __Mousy_."

_Be careful. He's here._

There was a pause. Daisuke looked somewhat dumbstruck, and Satoshi felt a something move beside him, ruffling his hair slightly. A moment later there was a crash coming from the kitchen, the younger two ran over to where their other friend was.

* * *

When he looked over, he found himself facing a plate which was flying towards him at a dangerous speed. Instinctively, he held up his arms to block it. He waited and heard another plate crash onto the ground, and a gust of wind blew past him while footsteps approached him. Opening his eyes, he watched his friends run towards him, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of gold.

Daisuke stared at his friend, "Dark? Your arm's bleeding, are you alright?"

He lowered his arms and glared at the redhead, "Daisuke, you don't put the words 'bleeding arm' and the question 'are you alright?' in the same sentence. I just had a plate thrown at me, quite possibly by a _ghost_, does that sound alright to you?"

The redhead frowned at the other's attitude, he didn't like where it was going, "Dark, get a hold of yourself already."

"You try having ghosts chuck plates at you! I don't care whether you say he's good or not but this definitely doesn't fit my category of 'good' things!"

Daisuke gave a frown and snapped at the other, "Stop falsely accusing people of things they're not responsible for!"

Both the other boys turned to look at him, "Daisuke…?"

"It wasn't him! He didn't do it Dark! If you must know, he was in the library beside me this whole time! He's the one who saved you from having a second plate thrown at you! Now apologize!"

Dark scratched his head lightly, "…sorry?" It felt weird having to apologize to someone or something he wasn't sure existed. But then again, if it got the redhead this worked up, he wasn't sure he wanted to go against the other's will. "Anyways, Daisuke, if it wasn't…_him_, then who was it?"

"…another member of the Hikari family, one who really wanted to inherit this place along with its powers." He looked up to receive questioning stares, "He was yelling at us…at _him_, I could only catch a part of it."

Satoshi blinked curiously, "Hm? What'd he say?"

Daisuke gathered his thoughts and memories together, "To us? He was saying, _get __out, __this __place __is __mine. __Get __out._ And when _he_ arrived, the second ghost was really surprised or something, he was saying something along the lines of, _you? __You __were__s upposed __to __be __gone __and __done __with __a __long __time __ago! W__hy __are __you __still __here? _Then he ran away. I'm not sure whether he'll be back or not, he's not grounded here, that's for sure."

"So that means…"

He looked over somewhat confused, "That he comes on visitation?"

The blue haired boy frowned, "I mean the part with the 'you were supposed to be gone and done with a long time ago?' What does that mean? Was he supposed to have died earlier or something? Well, that's the impression I was getting anyways. You wouldn't go around randomly saying that a person's supposed to be gone and done with for no particular reason."

Daisuke shook his head, "I'm not sure. Maybe? But whatever he meant by that, clearly he wasn't expecting to get intercepted by him or to see him at all. It makes me wonder what's happened here before, it's really interesting." He looked up, "It's weird, but I'm getting really excited about this."

Dark looked over, "Daisuke…really? Getting excited over something like this?"

"What's wrong with being excited about something like this? Dark, you're always excited about random and sometimes useless things, so why can't I?"

He didn't bother arguing that what excited him wasn't useless, random perhaps, but never useless. "…you know what? Never mind. You go and be excited all you want. You have my full consent."

Satoshi sighed at the two and shook his head for the uncountable time that day, "I'm heading back to the library, maybe I'll find something if I keep reading. My family history seems a lot more twisted than I expected. I mean, I've heard the stories and rumours but nothing like _this_ ever came up."

The redhead looked over, smile back on his face, "I'll join you in a minute, I'll just help Dark dress his wound."

"Alright, I'll see you in a minute."

Daisuke nodded and went to fetch bandages, he sighed when he reached Dark, who was cleaning the injury, "You know…you really shouldn't jump to conclusions like that."

Dark looked over with a raised brow, "I'm not sure about you, maybe you'd react differently, but as a normal person with no special powers whatsoever, I find it rather hard to concentrate on thinking logically when I've been assaulted by some unseen person."

He sighed and began wrapping up the other's arm, "I suppose that's true…you're just _so…ugh_ sometimes, you know?"

There was a pause as the redhead finished and put the extra away, "Hey…do you think I can join you two in the library?"

Crimson eyes widened slightly in surprise, "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"Can you say that again?"

"…do you think I can join you in the library? In reading I mean…not...whatever else you two do in there."

"Wow Dark…I'm pretty sure this is the first time you've asked me for permission to do something, and to read _history_ nonetheless. Of course you can, but why?"

Dark gave a shrug, "What can I say? I'm a curious guy. Besides, my Dark's intuition is going crazy for some reason, and it's like…I'm not sure…it's just like a gut feeling. That's all I can really say. And as for why I'm asking for permission…god knows what you two will be doing in the library."

"Dark!" He gave a huff and slapped the other's arm causing the other to yelp in protest, "Satoshi-kun was right, you _are _turning into a girl!" He got up with a huff, "Whatever, I'm going to go help Satoshi-kun, come whenever you want. And clean up the mess."

The elder boy gave a huff, "Why do I have to clean it up after a ghost? Isn't that a little unfair? Get him to come back to clean it up himself!" But the other had already left. So sighing, he went to do what he was told to despite his earlier protests. He could feel someone else's presence in the room, but it wasn't as cold and chilling as before. Looking up at nothing in particular, he thought about what he was about to do and decided to go along with it, no one was watching anyways. Smiling, he spoke in a low voice in case the other two were around, "…so you're the one that helped me earlier? I guess I _should_ apologize for earlier. So sorry and…thanks for helping me out."

Strangely enough, it almost felt as though the whole room was smiling at him.

* * *

Nya

Whoa! I updated! And it's what? A couple weeks into school, though I have to admit, it feels like it's been decades x.x Tests coming up already, how crap, no? I find it hard to be creative with math on my mind, maybe it's just me but yea...I guess I'll just have to see when I can take a break and get the insaneness back XD enjoy, hope it's not too crap!


	5. Chapter 4

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 4:

Quiet days passed by. With little violent interruption and little flying plates, much to Dark's relief. Unfortunately, peace never lasts, not long anyways. In the middle of the day, he was sitting on his temporary bed, which hadn't been made since the day he arrived, and flipping through one of the books he'd taken from the library, hoping to find some clue as to who had chucked the plate at him and who had stopped it.

He could hear loud footsteps heading for his room, soon accompanied by the redhead's excited yelling of "Dark! Dark! Dark!"

The book was set down with a small sigh just as the door swung open. He gave the redhead a wide, unconvincing grin, "Yes, Daisuke? How may I help you on this not so fine day?"

The younger boy raised a brow, "what are you talking about? It's sunny out," he walked over and took a seat on the bed by the other's feet. "I didn't really expect you to be the type of person to sit around on a nice day to read."

Dark gave a shrug, "well, it turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. Who would've thought that they fought so often back then? I didn't find anything on your little spirit friends though." He looked over at the redhead, "What's that in your hand?"

Ruby eyes blinked before looking down at the object in his hands, "Oh! This?" A pause, "right, that's why I came to find you," he flipped it up to a certain page, "look!"

"Hn?" Amethyst eyes squinted slightly and cocked his head, "no matter how I look at it, it looks like nothing but scribbles to me."

"Then look closer!"

He pulled back slightly when the pages were shoved into his face, "whoa! Calm down a bit, I can't read anything if it's _this _close." He narrowed his eyes again, "why…are wha? Why are you…here? Daisuke…are you writing notes to yourself again?"

"No!" Giving a huff, he lowered the book and glared at his friend, "of course not. I called mom and she made me practice this exercise where you let your arm get…possessed? I can't think of another, less alarming word for it right now-"

"So technically you're letting your little ghosty friends use your arm?"

"For writing messages."

"Right," another pause, "what if they suddenly decide to stab you with the pen or something?"

Daisuke blinked, "why would they do that? I'm not stupid, Dark. I'm not going to let some hostile ghost take over my arm."

The elder boy gave a shrug, "if you say so. Did you tell Satoshi yet?"

"Yea, I was downstairs just now, showing him this."

He raised a brow at the other, "So, what now? Why didn't you ask for his name instead? Wouldn't that make it way easier to look him up? Anyways, how are you going to reply the guy?"

"I can always talk to him, he can hear us, you know? And if not, then I guess…I could write back to him?" he gave a soft laugh, "I'll think of something. But first thing's first, look at this," he held up his notebook to the other's face again except it was flipped onto a different page.

"…what does that say? Why's it so messy? I hope their penmanship wasn't this bad back in the day."

"Well, they have to use their energy to control my hand to write something. I bet it's harder than it looks. You wouldn't understand."

Dark gave a huff, "of course I wouldn't, in case you haven't noticed; I'm not _dead_. And you still haven't told me what it says."

He rolled his eyes, "it says danger. Dae-n-jer."

There was a knock on the door, "are you trying to teach Dark how to read? Better give up while you're still ahead."

"Satoshi, what are you doing here?"

The other boy stepped through the door, "I was just going to tell you two that lunch was ready. You want to continue this downstairs?"

The two nodded and got up, following the blue haired boy down the stairs where their food was waiting for them.

* * *

Dark looked up and spoke between mouthfuls, "So fah har ve gona do? Ahout ha ainga hing hi een."

"Hey, hey, Dark," Satoshi frowned, "swallow first then talk. That's disgusting, no one wants to look at the content of your mouth."

Just to annoy the boy further, he stuck his tongue out before swallowing. "_Anyways_, back to the question, what are we going to do about the danger thing?"

Daisuke shook his head, "there isn't much we _can _do except wait for him to leave. Luckily for us, he's not grounded here. Eventually, he'll get bored of us and leave, or that's what I'm hoping."

"But that might take the whole summer! Which, might I remind you, is disappearing rather quickly even as we speak."

He shook his head again, "probably not, he seems pretty bored already. And he's been really on edge ever since that incident in the kitchen."

Satoshi looked over at Dark and snorted in amusement, "I love how your predictions are always a couple million miles off."

Amethyst eyes narrowed, "quiet you…so we just have so sit around and wait?"

"Basically…"

Dark stood up and brushed himself off, "well then, I'll take a walk outside then, thanks for lunch."

Satoshi shot the redhead a confused look, "he seems rather mellow today…it's alarming."

Daisuke nodded in agreement, "maybe he's still wondering about all this, I mean it seems to involve him somehow. If I were him, I'd be pretty confused right now too, he's taking it better than I expected…"

"He never ceases to surprise, does he? Kind of like a defunctional jack-in-the-box."

His reward was a laugh from the other.

* * *

Dark shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked through the garden, surrounded by flowers, "I wonder if they have a gardener to tend to all these…" He gave a soft smile as a soft breeze fluttered around him, ruffling his hair, "what a nice day…"

After awhile of walking and relaxing, an uneasy feeling settled over him, the bees had stopped buzzing and the garden had gone silent. He felt himself go cold, suddenly aware of the feeling of eyes boring into his back. "I'm imagining things. I'm definitely imagining things. Just imagining things because there's nothing behind me. I'm going to turn around and there'll be nothing there because I'm just imagining things."

Slowly, he turned to face the house. He was wrong. In the room he was facing, cold black eyes were staring at him, eyes belonging to a dark bloody figure that stood pressed against the glass. Dark stood there for a moment, too scared to move. Then he regained his senses and ran back into the house and library where the other two were.

* * *

Red eyes looked up from his book as the door opened noisily and someone sprinted into the room, "Dark? Is something wrong?"

Satoshi looked over, "…don't tell me you got stung by a bee…"

Dark shook his head, "N-n-n-n-no, the hell? A bee? There was a freaking bloody person staring at me from a room in your house while I was outside, and it freaked me out like no tomorrow and you thought it was a bee? That's just insulting!"

Icy blue eyes blinked, "a bloody person? Which room? We were both here…"

"I don't know which room! Your house is too freaking big! The one that looks out to the garden!"

"The parlor?"

"I don't know!"

The younger boy got up, "let's go take a look then."

The two followed him out of the room and into the parlor, Dark frowned, "yea, this was the room. He was against that window, and staring, and it was creepy."

Daisuke looked around while Satoshi mirrored the older boy's frown, "I think Dark's right…look…" he pointed to the boot prints on the floor by the window.

"Dark…that was the person who threw the plate at you. I don't know if I can get rid of him or not, maybe I should call mom and get her to come over here, it's either that or we wait for him to leave himself…"

The blue haired boy shook his head, "I'd rather not bother your mother…"

"I can't believe Dark saw him…how strange, I thought he'd see the other ghost first, if he saw them at all."

Then after awhile of further discussions, he felt himself calm down a bit, at least enough to think straight again. He looked over at the redhead, "Don't worry too much, I'm alright, you know?" As the two returned to their conversation, amethyst eyes wandered about. The boy gave a sigh and looked out the window as a sparrow landed in the grass, pecking around for worms. "Hm…? How nostalgic…"

His friend made his way over curiously, "A sparrow?"

"Yea…"

The redhead shot the other a strange look before shrugging it off; he looked over at the fading boot prints, "let's go elsewhere, the boot prints are creeping me out…"

Satoshi nodded and walked out of the room, "let's go back to the library then."

Dark gave a snort, he wasn't about to go and interrupt the two's private time. He scratched the back of his head lazily and headed back to his room. When he arrived, he plopped down onto the bed and returned to reading. Before long, the lulling sense of sleep drifted over him, his eyes fluttered close as he began to dream once more.

* * *

_He opened his eyes wearily, rubbing them, the scene before him was blurry. He looked about, trying to focus his vision. Soon, the scenery had cleared up. __**The ****parlor****…****?** At least he knew where he was…he scanned his surroundings and took note of two figures standing by the window, one taller than the other; though the shorter one couldn't have been any shorter than him currently._

_Their faces were mere shadows, mouths barely moving as they spoke to one another, taking no notice of his presence._

_The taller figure leaned in a little, "you've been staring outside for the longest time, do you plan on sharing your thoughts anytime soon?"_

_A soft voice replied him, "outside…there's a bird outside…"_

_The voice was so quiet, so familiar, yet he couldn't put his finger on it. **His ****name****…****I should ****know ****his ****name, ****it's****…****why ****can't ****I ****remember? **The other looked out the window and paused, silence filled the room. Then as quickly as it came, it was broken, "the sparrow?" Dark snapped out of his reverie and continued watching the shadowy figures. "It looks hurt, doesn't it?"_

"_Do __you __think __you __could __bring __it __in __for __me?"_

_The taller figure gave a soft chuckle and answered in a teasing voice, laced with affection, "oh? Why don't you go out and get it yourself?"_

_The figure turned around, probably shocked at the suggestion, "but, you know I can't do that!"_

_He laughed and ruffled the other's hair, "I was joking. Of course I'll get it for you, your highness."_

"_Please __don't __call __me __that__…__"_

_The other laughed again as he made his way outside and scooped the sparrow up in his hands, bringing it back into the house._

_Dark watched the scene, baffled, wondering why he was witnessing it in the first place. Then the scenery changed, he ended up in a room that he didn't recognize. It was a relatively large and spacious room, a single bed, a single wardrobe and a single desk in sight. _

_A voice called from the doorway, "should I get a cage for it?"_

_The smaller figure made his way to the desk and set the bird down. He shook his head and replied, "a small box and cloth will do." When the other returned with the material he had requested, he dipped his head and accepted them, "thank you."_

"_You're __welcome. A__ren't __you __afraid __it'll __fly __away?"_

"_The __sooner __the __better," __he __looked __at __the __person __beside __him __before __turning his __attention __back __down __to __the __bird, __"there'__s __nothing __crueler __than __caging __a __bird__…__" __He __turned __and __looked __straight __through __the __other, and __Dark __f__elt __as __though __the __figure's __eyes were boring __straight through __him. __"Wouldn't you agree__?"_

* * *

_There was a change of time, and chirping could be heard. Amethyst eyes blinked a couple times, wondering where the sound was coming from. After a bit of scanning, he spotted the shorter of the two, standing by himself at a small window with the bird perched on his finger. "I guess it's time for me to set you free…"_

_A figure stepped into the room just in time to watch the bird fly through the window and into the sky, "so you're really letting it go?"_

"_Of __course. __It's __too __cruel, __taking __away __a __bird's __freedom__…__"_

_The other approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder, "setting what you love free, hm?"_

"_I __suppose __you __could __call __it __that __if __you'd __like."_

_When the smaller figure looked up, the taller one asked, "Is something wrong?"_

"_No__…__I __was __just __wondering that if we were in a similar situation, __would __**you** __set __me __free?"_

* * *

He had tears streaking down his face when he woke up. His entire body felt restless. Something was wrong. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and got up. The sun had already gone down. Violet eyes looked around, they landed on the wardrobe, and almost immediately, his mind blanked out. Running to the headrest of the bed, he began fumbling around, picking at different places until a little piece of wood fell loose. He stuck his finger and hooked something out. It was a key. Hands shaking apprehensively, he held the piece of metal awkwardly and shuffled around a bit.

_Hurry, I have to hurry…_

He ran over to the wardrobe and rammed the key into the hole, slipping a couple times, eyes widening in frustration, "come on…!" Once the click was heard, he flung the doors open.

* * *

Nya

This is...relatively old now XD I'm hungry...and I'm going to be broke soon :S But that's okay, I suppose...to an extent anyways. Oh my god, I'm surrounded by tests, it's terrible. D: Wow...I keep forgetting what I'm going to type, brain meltdown...so yea...enjoy? Hope I didn't screw this over too badly...


	6. Chapter 5

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 5:

He was feeling out of breath when he opened the doors, revealing several dozen bottles, all covered in a thick layer of dust. But he paid no attention to the film that cling to his fingers as he began fiddling with the bottles. After awhile, he dropped them and slammed his fist against the wooden dresser, "damn it! Which one was it? If I don't hurry, he's going to-" As though an idea swept through his mind, he got up and left the room and ran down the stairs, paying no attention the noise he made as he went down. He looked around frantically, "where is everyone?"

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he decided that the kitchen would surely have people in it. There was always people in the kitchen. As he ran in, he spotted two children he didn't recognize sitting by the table. The hand that gripped the doorway was still shaking rather badly. He snarled as he snapped angrily at the two, "who are you? Where is everyone? Where's Hikari-sama?"

Wide crimson eyes blinked a couple times, "D-Dark? Is something wrong?"

The violet haired boy gave a growl of exasperation, "forget it. I have no time to deal with you and your incompetence. Don't you two have errands to run or something? Go report to your masters already!" He turned around and stumbled back into the main hall.

Daisuke turned to Satoshi, who looked equally shocked, "…our incompetence? Did he really just say that?"

Without another word, the two got up and followed the elder boy as he headed for the library. He grabbed the handles and wrenched the wooden doors open. Eyes widening immediately at the room before him, "w-what happened? This isn't right!" He looked back at the two, swaying slightly on his feet, "what's happened? Tell me! Where is Kr-" Suddenly, his body betrayed him and his legs gave out from underneath him. Eyes rolling up, he lost consciousness.

_What's going on…?_

The redhead ran over and grabbed his friend before he hit the ground, he looked down, "…he's out cold…"

"What just happened?"

He shook his head, "I have no idea, but that wasn't Dark at all."

* * *

Amethyst eyes fluttered open only to be shut tightly again. His head was pounding for some reason. He reopened his eyes and looked around, "it's morning already? …how the hell did I end up on the couch? I could've sworn I went to sleep in my own bed last night." The boy got up and dragged his feet into the kitchen, "good morning, Dai. Where's the other one?"

"He went to the town library to do some research…" The redhead looked over, a small frown etched on his face, "Hey Dark, did you open the wardrobe yesterday?"

"Wardrobe? What? Why? What happened?" He paused for a moment to consider the question, "oh, that wardrobe. Yes, I opened it. _But-"_ he raised his arms in defense, cutting Daisuke off before he even started, "but I didn't pick the lock, I found the key."

He raised a brow, "what? How'd you manage to find the key? It could've been anywhere in this house, assuming if it was even _in_ the house."

"But I still found it. It was in one of the bed posts, one of them had a secret cubby or something."

The younger boy frowned in contemplation, "…show me."

Dark gave a shrug and led them up the stairs to his bedroom and sat down in front of the post. He turned around to make sure the redhead was watching as he opened the hole. "See? There you go, this is where the key was."

Crimson eyes blinked, "is there anything else in there?"

He raised a brow, shoving his fingers into the opening, he felt around and pulled out something soft. "There's…a feather? And other than that, it's empty."

"Hey, that's a sparrow feather." The elder boy shot him a questioning look that he shrugged off easily, "I have a bit of bird watching experience, that's all."

"Right…anyways, let's carry on shall we?"

"What was in the wardrobe anyways?"

"There was-" Dark blinked as his mind drew a blank, "…weird, I know I opened it, but I don't remember what was in it at all."

Daisuke shot the other a funny look, "well, let's go take a look hm?"

"Yea, let's…" he muttered and walked over to the closet, opening the door, "hey, Daisuke, what are these?"

"What's what?" The redhead walked over with a raised brow. Kneeling down, he began looking through the various bottles, "these look like…medicine? Maybe they're poison? I have no idea what these are…"

"A lot of help you are," he rolled his eyes. Suddenly the sound of the front door closing was heard, "looks like he's back."

"Maybe he'll know what this stuff is?" With that said, the redhead got up and headed downstairs to greet the other.

Dark sighed and plopped onto the ground, "what a way to spend the summer…" he looked up and saw a faint outline of a person. Quickly blinking a few times, he looked again only to discover that the 'person' had disappeared. "I think I've lost it. Maybe I'm actually going crazy?"

"You think?"

Amethyst eyes darted over to the owner of the voice and let out sarcastically, "hello to you too."

Satoshi gave a soft sniff, "what am I suppose to look at?"

"The stuff in the closet."

The blue haired boy headed over without another word and looked through the bottles. "…I think these are ingredients for medicine…"

Dark sat up, "what?"

"Yea, these are all ingredients that were needed for medicine back in the day…how'd you get it opened?"

"I magically found a secret cubby thing in one of the bed posts and got the key from there, somehow."

Satoshi continued examining the various bottles, "whoever these were for must've been pretty sick. I'm surprised it's still here…all of this must've cost a fortune."

Suddenly, there were soft thuds downstairs, the three looked at each other in alarm. Daisuke frowned, "that sounded like it came from the library."

The thief quickly looked at the blue haired boy, "you go."

"No, you go."

"You go, I'll follow."

"Chicken."

"Pansy."

"Woman."

"Fine! I'll go!" Dark scowled and got up, slowly making his way down the stairs with the other two in tow. Once in front of the library, he poked his head in and looked around, "there's nothing here…"

"Look again, genius."

He did as he was instructed and found that there were books lying on the ground, three of them. They'd been pulled out from different shelves and lay motionless on the floor. Daisuke blinked and walked around the collect the books, "…I think he wants us to read these."

"Are they from his time period?"

"Probably…"

Dark raised a brow, "why were they scattered around the room?"

"Why are you asking me? Maybe they're not supposed to be read. Seems like someone was trying to keep them hidden."

The thief gave a grin, "well in that case, I want to read this one."

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "I'll read this one then."

"Okay, I'll get this one."

The thief paused, "I'm hungry, going to go get something to eat before I start reading."

The redhead looked over curiously, "Who wrote that one?"

Satoshi looked over, "some servant…I think…nothing useful yet…yours?"

"I don't know whose but it's…interesting…"

"How so?"

"Listen to this:

"_Do __I __still __exist? __People __that __exist __have __names__…__I haven't __been __called __by __mine __for __so __long __now that __I __can't __help __but __wonder __whether I even still have one. How do I know if __I'm __still __alive __or __not? __I __have __to __stay __out __of __sight __from __guests. N__o __one __really __knows __of __my __existence, __and __the __servants __never __seem __to __see __me. __All they do is __put __a __tray __of __food __down __regularly and leave. It's like they're __honoring __the __dead. __Does __that __mean __I'm __dead? __If __I __don't __have __a __name __and __if __no __one __can __see __me __or __knows __of __me__…then __perhaps __I __am."_

"…I'm not going to lie, that's really depressing."

"Yea…" After he read the next few pages, "I think I found out who the medicine was for…whoever wrote this was pretty sick…" There was a pause, crimson eyes widened as he tugged on the other boy's sleeve, "hey Satoshi, look at this."

The blue haired boy blinked and leaned over to read the page that had shocked the other.

"_Someone __called __me __by __my __name __today__…__someone __by __the __name __of __Dark __Mousy__…__"_

He stared, "this is a joke right…?"

Suddenly, there was an incoherent shout from the kitchen and within moments, Dark ran into the room, "what the hell is this?"

"What?"

"Look at this!"

The two looked over and read what the other was pointing at.

"_This __belongs __to __**Dark **__**Mousy**__."_

* * *

Nya

Happy holidays! Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 6

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 6:

Dark paled, "please tell me this is a joke…just a really bad, tasteless joke."

Satoshi frowned, "Wait…Dark, didn't you say something about your family stealing medicine before…?"

"Yea but…oh god, don't tell me you think-no way, just no way. That's not possible."

Daisuke took a deep breath, "let's just continue reading for now, maybe we'll get more answers. Dark? Are you going to be alright?"

The elder gave an unsure nod, "I guess…I call the couch though."

So the three sat in the library, reading, Dark on the couch, Daisuke sprawled out on the floor, and Satoshi who was sitting against a shelf. The three of them sat there, diving deeper into the past than they'd ever imagined possible.

* * *

(Dark's)

_I was summoned by the lord today. I wonder what he could possibly want from a freelancer. Oh well, I guess I'll find out when I go see him later. I don't really have much of a choice, do I? If I don't go, I might as well slit my throat and die now._

* * *

_Unbelievable. _

_The lord wants me to guard his son. But doesn't his son already have at least a dozen guards around him at all times? What's the point in adding another one? I've packed up my stuff already. Apparently I'll be taking residence at the lord's place from tomorrow onwards. There's something wrong with this, I know it, but I can't say exactly what it is yet._

_I'll write more tomorrow after everything's settled down a bit again._

* * *

_That was completely unexpected. _

_I'm not guarding the lord's son, or at least not the one I thought I was. Who knew the lord had two sons? I've never even heard of this second son. I asked around the castle but no one answered any of my questions. I looked around for him too. I found the son I actually know of, the lord's wife (this is his third wife I think), and I ran into the lord himself a couple times. The rest of the people were servants or guests. _

_It's almost like this other son doesn't exist._

_Am I guarding a ghost?_

* * *

_I can't get that haunting melody out of my head._

_Last night, in the dead of the night, I heard someone playing the clavichord. It was beautiful, but I couldn't will myself to get out of bed to take a look. Some guard I'll make. However, if the player returns for another performance tonight, I'll get up for sure. I want to see who could play such a sad tune so perfectly in the night without anyone noticing. Or is it because they're all used to it already?_

* * *

_I tried searching for the second son again, but I got the same results as yesterday. Nothing. This is very discouraging. Perhaps I should ask the lord about it. Maybe if I do, he'll let me go home, though I'm not really complaining. I've got a wonderful room here, it's probably bigger than my entire house. Though why the lord gave me this room, I'm not sure, it's right by his room which is slightly uncomforting._

_I hope the mysterious player returns tonight._

* * *

_There was no music last night. But today, I'm reconsidering what I said about guarding a ghost. I caught the sight of unfamiliar golden hair today. It was too flawless to be a servant's, and the scent, though I can't put a name to it right now, was too rich to be anything but a noble's. It didn't smell the same as the lord or his family's though, this is going to pester me for the rest of the day. _

_What was that smell?_

_Who was that person?_

* * *

_I feel like I'm hunting. I've spent the whole day searching for the blond from yesterday. But it wasn't without success, though I couldn't catch the blond, I managed to get a glimpse of their face. It was a pale face, so flawless I honestly couldn't tell whether it was a girl or boy. Unfortunately, the blond disappeared within moments. I've never met or seen anyone who could move so fast and soundlessly. But that's not what stood out the most about this person._

_Those lonely, golden eyes will be imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life._

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_The poor young master, I haven't heard him speak in weeks now. How can anyone live without speaking? But I suppose it's the same thing if he speaks but no one listens. His health seems to have gotten better somewhat as of lately, the poor young master. He never asked to be poisoned. If he hadn't, he would probably be the heir to the lord's title right now. The poor young master…_

* * *

_The stable boy was caught having an affair with one of the maids today. I wonder what will become of them. I didn't see the young master today, how quietly he moves through these hallways._

_No one takes notice of him. _

_It's as though he's a ghost._

* * *

_Rumor has it that the lord is hiring a guard for the young master. Apparently it's a renowned freelancer by the name of Dark Mousy. I haven't actually heard of this person but I'm curious as to why he'd do something like that. A freelancer? Why would the young master need a guard?_

_I suppose it's no secret that the lord still cares deeply for the child of his first wife._

_But why would he need to hire a guard?_

_Is something going to happen soon?_

* * *

_The rumors turned out to be true. A person was wandering around the halls today, asking questions, searching for something. I'm assuming that this person is the infamous Dark Mousy. He had wild violet hair and ruffled clothes, clearly not one of a noble family. Perhaps he was in the past though, this is the first time I've seen such deep amethyst eyes, it's not the colour of a commoner. _

_He kept walking around, looking for something. The young master? The chances of his finding the young master are very slim. Even I have a hard time finding the young master, at least I know what I'm looking out for. Usually, I can only catch a glimpse of the poor boy for a few seconds before he vanishes from sight. _

_I wonder where he disappears to, the young master. He's always walking around, without a destination in mind. _

_Perhaps he's looking for something too._

* * *

(Dark's)

_Today proved to be my lucky day. I finally found the person I was searching for. He was standing by the window that looks over the front of the place. He took my breath away. It was indeed the blond from the other days, he stood there by himself, looking outside with what appeared to be longing. _

_Why didn't anyone take notice of him?_

_He was so beautiful yet so lonely, standing there. I walked behind him, his hair looked like rays of sunlight. So soft, so silky, I wanted to run my fingers through it. I was afraid he was going to disappear like he did all those other times, so I called his name._

_I must've surprised him because he stiffened and turned around quickly, staring at me with those large golden eyes. He didn't say anything; he just stared at me almost as though he was paralyzed. Without thinking, I walked over and kneeled, taking his hand, I kissed it. I don't know what compelled me to do such a thing. I told him that I was going to be his guard from now on, and he just continued staring, then he spoke._

_His voice was quiet, smooth, like what I imagine his hair is like. He only asked me one thing._

_He asked me if I could see him._

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_Someone called me by my name today…someone by the name of Dark Mousy. I was looking outside when someone called my name. It's been so long since I've heard that name called…_

_And when I turned around, I found violet eyes watching me._

_He can see me?_

_That's all I could think of when I looked at him, this stranger. Clearly, he's from the outside world. But how could anyone from outside know of my existence?_

_This person, Dark Mousy, he introduced himself as, walked over and I could only stare. He kneeled before me and kissed my hand, telling me that he was hired by father to be my guard from now on. My guard? What need do I have for a guard? _

_Does that mean I'm still alive? If father hired a guard, and this guard could see me…_

_Perhaps I am not a ghost after all._

* * *

_I ran into my brother today. An unfortunate event, but it happened nonetheless. I didn't look at him and tried to get away as fast as I could. He didn't acknowledge me, actually, he more or less moved right through me. All I could think afterwards was how strange it was that my own younger brother cannot see me yet that person father hired could._

_Then the Dark Mousy person found me again. _

_How he managed to find me again is a mystery. I have prided myself in being hidden from everyone, but then again, no one has ever truly looked for me. Until now that is. I watched him, I was curious about this person, this guard that managed to find me in such a large house in amidst of the bustling servants and guests._

_He didn't say anything when he reached me, he just gave a grin. Sheepish…yes, that's the right word for it. He had a sheepish grin on his face, as though he was unsure about what he was supposed to do next. I didn't know either, so I couldn't help him. We stood there for awhile in awkward silence before I took my leave. Maybe he'll quit in a couple days and disappear like all the faceless people in this place._

* * *

_He seems very determined. I was found once again today. He tried to start a conversation with me of all people, using my name frequently as though he'd forget it if he didn't. I'm not used to talking to people, all the answers I gave were unhelpful short answers. How long has it been since I last talked with someone?_

_Amazingly, he didn't seem deterred. He continued talking, about himself more than anything. But it was fascinating. The life he's led up until now has been filled with adventures and tales to tell. When he left, it was strange, I felt something I haven't felt in a long time._

_I found myself missing his presence_

* * *

(Dark's)

_It took me hours to find him again today. _

_He's very intriguing, the lord's secret son. Unsocial, but intriguing nonetheless. Perhaps his inability to keep a conversation up adds to his charm and beauty. He kept staring at me with those unsure golden eyes when I tried to start a conversation with him. It's probably not his fault, he probably hasn't talked to anyone in a long time. _

_I ended up talking about myself and my freelancing days when our conversation ended with silence. It was a good step apparently, he kept watching me, I could tell, he was interested in my stories. I've never seen anyone whose eyes could shine so brightly at mere tales of freelancing. _

_His eyes reminded me of a child's, unaware of the outside world. _

_The outside world…I wonder…_

_Has he ever stepped out of the door and into the sun?_

* * *

_I was surprised to find him waiting for me in the library today. Perhaps he wasn't waiting, but that's where I found him. Hesitantly, almost shyly, he asked me to tell him more stories of the world that was unknown to him. Of course I agreed, so I told him about how people hired me for all sorts of jobs. I told him about towns he's never seen, jobs he's never done, and people he's never met. _

_He listened, watching me with those same, fascinated eyes. I can't get enough of his eyes. He's probably as intrigued by me as I was by him. But much to my displeasure, I had to go sup, and when I finished, I couldn't find him a second time. _

_But I solved one mystery._

_Vanilla._

_The scent was vanilla._

* * *

Nya

Yay, another update! Let's see if I can keep this up, hm? Hopefully my writing skills-ness hasn't completely died off. Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 7

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 7:

(Satoshi's)

_The young master appears to have become fast friends with the guard. I haven't seen him stay in a single place for such a long period of time nor have a heard his voice in such a long time, I've nearly forgotten what it sounded like. Soft, fragile almost, I wonder what amazing powers this purple-eyed freelancer possesses that could cause the young master to open up like this._

_Perhaps this is why the lord hired him in the first place. _

_Those two seem to be in their own world. They don't notice us just as we don't notice them. There's something unusual about the way they clash, it makes them look almost ethereal._

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_It's something strange and completely new._

_But that's not necessarily a bad thing I suppose, being lavished with attention. However, perhaps it's not the wisest thing to do, getting attached to this guard. After all, he may disappear at anytime though he promised otherwise. I wonder, am I in the right or wrong to trust his words?_

* * *

_Dark was telling me about a rose garden today. He tried to describe the flowers to me but I suppose it was a rather difficult task so he tried drawing it. I don't know how accurate his drawing was but it was a start. _

_A beautiful and delicate flower with deep colors and velvety peddles. _

_That's how he described it._

* * *

(Dark's)

_I never realized how hard it was to describe something until yesterday. I was trying to describe a rose and somehow, I just couldn't find the right words for it. I even tried drawing one out for him but my artistic talents are lacking to say the least. He looked satisfied by my drawing but it's not the same, looking at a picture is never the same as holding one in your hand and smelling it._

_So I went and got one for him._

_It was from the garden of some peasant girl, it wasn't hard to charm her into giving me a little rose. I figured it'd be a nice little surprise for him tomorrow, I wonder how he'll react to this. Will he want more? If he did, I don't think I'd mind getting more for him if it made him happy. For him, I'd probably go steal a hundred roses. Hn, I guess I've grown attached to the boy. Now if only I could figure out where he goes when he's not wandering around, it'd make it just that much easier for me to get this rose to him._

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_I found a flower on the desk in the library today. The flower was deep red with a delicately soft peddles and gave off a fragrance I've never smelt before. And there was a note beside it from Dark._

_It was a rose._

* * *

(Dark's)

_I had an audience with the lord today so unfortunately, I was unable to deliver the rose personally. But technically, the lord was the one that hired me so what choice did I have? None. So I went, and I found out why I was hired._

_Freelancers didn't go by the same code as knights did._

_We have no obligation to be chivalrous or anything of the like. I was to get ingredients for medicine through any means necessary. The lord even gave me a suit of armor and everything so I wouldn't be recognized. That's the reason I was hired. Apparently someone had poisoned the little lord I'm guarding when he was younger but failed to kill him off. So even now, he's constantly going in and out of illness and at a young age, the lord was pressured into announcing his 'death' to secure his position to a stronger, more long-lived heir. So in some ways, he really is a ghost, forced to haunt these halls, unable to escape this house…_

_I want to free him from this cage one day._

_But for now, I'll go find the medicine he needs._

* * *

_While I was on my errand last night, I came across a couple thugs and chased them off with little difficulty. Though I must admit, I need to get used to this heavy armor, it's weighing down both me and my horse. But luckily, those thugs were amateurs, not even close to threats. _

_I had to take my armor off to get the ingredients, it was simply too noisy. And as the lord said, I obtained it through any means required, which meant stealing on my part. The owner of the drug was beyond antisocial. No amount of bargaining or threats made him so much as flinch. I think I might've been seen by him or some other witness, but I got the medicine back, and that's all that matters. I've hidden it in my wardrobe for when he needs it and hid the key to it elsewhere. I need to make sure this stays safe, especially if it might lead to a life or death situation for him._

* * *

_His smile has me completely entranced._

_He thanked me for the rose and gave me a smile-not a shy or polite one, this one was…the only word I can use to describe it is beautiful. If it was a piece of artwork, I'd steal it and make it mine. The way his eyes lit up simply took my breath away and I couldn't stop staring. I've never been happier that the lord had hired me for this job._

_If only I'd met a woman like him, I would've settled down a long time ago instead of doing all the things I've done. Oh well, it doesn't matter now, I want my name to live on anyways._

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_The young master showed his guard the room today, the room that only the lord, the young master and a few servants know about. Those two really have grown close, they spend most of their time in each other's presence. It brings me relief to see the young master smiling the way he does around Dark Mousy._

_Rumors from the towns and villages have spread and reached my ears. There is a lot of talk of a black knight and of a thief. The black knight has gone around leaving a trail of dead outlaws and criminals, whereas the thief has broken into the houses or aristocrats and other wealthy people and stolen something of high value, though what it is hasn't been disclosed yet._

_No one knows who either of them are._

_The black knight saved a family of six from rogues the other night. And lately there's been more talk of the thief, and a name has risen up though it's still a mere whisper. The name that's constantly murmured in the towns is none other than Dark Mousy._

_I wonder…could they possibly be the same…?_

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_I'll never forget his words he spoke to me today._

_We were talking about how the family, this family ran, its history, heirs, and other irrelevant things. It's been like this for quite awhile now, the two of us, talking about anything, everything. I find myself very comfortable in his presence for reasons I cannot explain. We talked about me, how things, how everything was taken away from me…and to be honest, I don't know how I feel about this. But I have nothing, that much is clear, and when I told him this…he said…_

_He said that he'd be my everything._

* * *

(Dark's)

_I never realized how little he had until today. We were sitting in that room with the little window and a couple snacks one of the kitchen maids kindly offered me, and we were just talking. This seems to be our main pastime, he's come a long way, from the boy that could barely raise his voice above a whisper to someone who I can actually converse with. We were talking about the Hikari, its lineage and everything. _

_Then it led to a conversation about him. It amazes me how for someone who basically had his life taken away from him, he doesn't seem to hold any ill feelings towards anyone. He told me that it was simply the way things were. "I have nothing," that's what he told me, and I realized how right he was. Title, life, voice, even his name, all of this had been lost to him, and he thanked me for bringing back just a few of those things._

_The basics of life he'd been deprived of until now…_

_It was then that I realized, I wanted to give this boy everything. _

_I wanted to **be** his everything._

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_There was a bird outside today, it was injured and I made Dark bring it inside for me. Perhaps it was selfish of me, but I wanted to see the bird up close, I wanted to see it fly away._

_Dark called it a 'sparrow'._

_He offered to bring me a cage for it, but it seemed too cruel. This bird belongs outside, it's supposed to be free and flying in the sky. Dark's told me before that I reminded him of a caged bird, bound to this house. _

_Will I ever be set free?_

* * *

(Dark's)

_He set the sparrow free today. It was strange, watching a caged bird set a sparrow free. From what I've heard from my friends who've traveled even further than I have, sparrows stand for loyalty, freedom and home for people who've crossed the sea. Once they see sparrows, they know they're close to land, or home as they say. At least this is what I've heard._

_In this case, I suppose he's my sparrow…after a long night's work, when I see him, somehow it feels like home to me now. And one day, I'm going to set him free_

* * *

_It was a close call tonight, I was nearly caught and discovered by some little peasant boy. Luckily, I'd put my armour back on and managed to get away before he got too close. My wardrobe is beginning to fill up with all these ingredients…I could probably start my own shop with all these. He seems to be getting better from that illness last week._

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_We have an unfortunate visitor here, it is the lord who poisoned the young master. I hope his visit be kept quiet because I don't know how his guard will react to his presence. The lord also looks troubled, he is aging fast, his once blond hair has turned gray and he constantly looks tired…_

_Rumors of the black knight and the thief continue to float around, many have claimed to be either of those titles but failed to prove their worth. And these mysterious figures continue doing what they do as though unaffected by the rumors and fame their deeds have brought them._

_Our unfortunate visitor has discovered the young master's presence just as Dark Mousy has discovered his. The visitor was clearly outraged and retreated to his room without supping. _

_I fear for the young master's safety._

* * *

(Dark's)

_I killed someone last night. He was what I'd consider to be a criminal despite the status he has in this land. As of recently, there's been a sinister looking man walking around in the halls, I found out that this was the person that poisoned him. I'm not going to lie, I was angry. So angry at him, but I hadn't planned on doing anything about him until I heard him. His room was placed next to mine and as I walked past his door, I could hear him talking to himself._

_He was going to kill him._

_I couldn't let him live, not if he was a threat. He was downstairs in the kitchen when I found him, clearly having another go at poisoning people. I killed him with my sword, the same sword that the black knight used to slay the criminals that got in the way of the thief. These are the names people have come up for me for the deeds I've been doing._

_He tried to run away, leaving a trail of blood behind him. And I followed him, just to make sure he died. He died in the parlor, he was leaning against the window as he took his last breath and sank to the ground. I feel no pity or regret for my actions, I've merely done my job as both a guard and as a slayer of evil men._

_No one said anything when they found his dead body._

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_Someone has killed the unfortunate guest and though everyone is silent, we all know who's done the deed. Even the lord is silent, disregarding it as an unfortunate event and brought up the possibility of him being murdered by outsiders. After all, who are we to reprimand Dark Mousy for doing his job as a guard?_

_The household has gone back to normal as though that dead man hadn't left bloody footprints in his wake just a few hours ago. I am not one to be superstitious but I hope I never see the likes of him again._

* * *

Dark got off his bed and ran to Daisuke's room and held the pages up to the younger boy's face, "read this! Read this now!"

The redhead raised a brow and took the book from him and blinked, "oh…"

He freaked out, "What do you mean 'oh'! Can't you say anything more helpful! That's the guy that threw freaking plates at me, right! And he was probably the guy staring at me from the parlor too, oh my god he's going to try to _kill_ me now!"

The shorter boy pursed his lips, "oh…maybe that's why he was targeting you. And maybe that's why 'danger' was written, and thr ghost reacted the way he did, you know, angry and surprised…I guess it all makes sense."

His eyes narrowed, "that's not helping, Dai, not to mention it's very unfair. I mean, I'm not my ancestor, so what right does he have to attack me? Just because I have the same name as him doesn't mean anything…not that he knows it, I think."

"Well, you might be the same person though…I don't know, I mean, you were possessed by your ancestor or someone before, so there's a large possibility of you and the Dark Mousy you're reading about being more or less the same person."

Then Satoshi walked in, "oh good, you're in here. I think there's an angry ghost who's trying to hurt you because you killed him in your past life."

Dark looked over, "you noticed that too? My ancestor's trying to get me killed!"

The blue haired boy shrugged, "I'm not too concerned, at least until something actually happens to you."

"I had plates thrown at me! Isn't that something enough?"

"I meant something serious," then he turned back to what he came to say, "but meanwhile, does anyone have the name to the 'young master' this guy keeps talking about?"

The two shook their heads, "I don't know, I've been trying to figure it out too. It's like his name really was erased from the world."

The eldest sighed and plopped onto the redhead's bed, "all I know is that my ancestor was basically in love with the kid. He stole, killed and did other nice things for him. All he writes about is the kid. Actually, it sounds like his whole life revolved around the kid. I'm not going to lie, this kid sounds interesting…but I still hate him for making my ancestor make an angry ghost attack me…"

Suddenly there was a loud crash from downstairs and a cold breeze filled the house.

* * *

Nya

I'm back from my vacation in Hawaii and sooooo very happy that DN Angel's continuing and oh my god, Krad is so very awesome XD Yes, anyways, more journal entries. I hope there are still DNA fans out there o.O Pft, of course there are, since Dark and Krad are just so very awesome ;P Hope you enjoy!


	9. Chapter 8

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 8:

_He opened his eyes and sat up on his bed, listening carefully for any sign of the person he was seeking or anything out of place. He knew what he had to do. Grabbing his sword, soundlessly, he left his room in search for someone. _

_There was shuffling downstairs. _

_Waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. At the entrance, he could see a figure hunched over the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast. Tightening his grip on his sword, he walked behind him and within a moment, the figure let out a surprised gasp as the metal pierced his stomach. He withdrew the sword and watched as the man turned around and tried desperately to get away, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he tried to run. Silently, he followed slowly behind the other until they reached the parlor where the other was pressed up against the window, facing him, cornered. The blood had begun to pool around his feet. Eyes wide with fear, he let out a mangled whisper as he continued clutching as his wound, "Why are you doing this?"_

_He raised a brow, indifferent to the sight of a man bleeding to death before him, "Do you really wish to know? Very well, first of all, you've done terrible deeds that can't go unpunished, and second, your most terrible deed was directed to the person I'm guarding and caused him a lot of suffering as a result."_

"_Guarding? __No__…__he __was __supposed __to __be __dead __a __long __time __ago. __I__…__he's __supposed __to have __been __taken __care __of__…__this __place __was __supposed__to b__e __**mine**__."__A __surge __of __anger __washed __over __the __man, __"Who __are __you __to __take __that __away __from __me?"_

_Cold amethyst eyes scanned him over before taking a step forward, "I'm Dark Mousy, his personal guard, but you may know me better as the black knight."_

_The man's eyes widened further, he shook his head with great difficulty, "the black knight…no…you can't be!"_

"_Ah, __but __yes __I __am. __and __remember __it __well __because __you're __the __only __one __who __will __ever __know. __And __if __I __ever __see __you __again, __in __this __life __or __the __next, __I __won't __hesitate __to __do __**this **__again." __He __murmured angrily, __and __moved __forward. __The __man __let __out __a __groan __and __sank __to __the __ground __as __the __sword __pierced __him __once __more. __"Goodbye. For your own sake, let's__hope __we __never __meet __again."_

_Those ice cold amethyst eyes were the last things he ever saw._

* * *

Daisuke watched as Dark disappeared down the stairs without another word. He exchanged glanced with the blue haired boy and followed the elder. There was something off about the taller boy as he disappeared into the kitchen, "that's not Dark anymore…" the redhead whispered to his friend.

Satoshi raised a brow, "does that mean he's going to go around calling us incompetent again?"

He shrugged and observed the scene before him as they walked into the kitchen, "well, that other ghost seems to recognize him." Then suddenly, he blinked, "that's weird, they're all here…but they're on different channels right now or something…"

Blue eyes looked over, "What? You mean dead, black knight Dark, the plate-throwing ghost and the other ghost are all here? So which ghost and which ghost can see each other, what?"

Daisuke pursed his lips, "well it looks like possessed Dark and the angry ghost can see each other-"

Dark ignored the two and focused on the presence in front of him, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "I thought there was someone _unwanted _here…but you, I didn't expect that it'd be you again. Have you already forgotten my parting message from before?"

The two redirected their attention over to the owner of the icy voice. Satoshi shot the other a confused look, Daisuke shook his head, "the ghost looks scared and really surprised. He's yelling and kind of crying and oh look, now he's gone."

Dark gave a soft huff and turned around, blinking at the sight of the two, "You guys again?"

Satoshi frowned, "and who are _you_?"

The taller boy raised a brow coolly, "Me? I'm Dark Mousy, and you two are…"

"I'm Daisuke and this is Satoshi," the redhead introduced, purposefully leaving out their family names, or at least Satoshi's.

Dark pursed his lips and took a closer look at them, "what are your posts? You two seem pretty young to be working around here…" but then he shrugged, "oh well, it's not my place to say who's too young or too old to work here I suppose."

The redhead frowned slightly before asking, "Do you know that you're dead?"

The taller boy looked down aloofly for a moment before nodding with a shrug, "yes, I've figured that out quite awhile ago."

He blinked, that wasn't really what he was expecting, but he pressed on anyway. Though with more caution this time as he figured that it might be a touchy subject for the spirit, "Oh, well…do you remember how you died?"

Another pause, before Dark shook his head. "No, I don't, but that doesn't matter. I know why I'm back, and that's what _I_ care about." He looked around the room and suddenly, his shoulders drooped slightly, almost wearily as he gave a sigh and muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else, "…it's been so long…are you still…?" He shook himself out of his trance and straightened up and began walking away, "Try not to cause any trouble, alright, you two?"

The two watched as he stepped out the door with an offhanded wave. The shorter boy dipped his head in thought, "I guess it makes sense…I think he still thinks there are servants here. He'll be surprised to find out how much things have changed. Actually, no, he might not care…Satoshi?"

Satoshi stared at the kitchen entrance in wonder, "that was a pretty close call. I almost found myself _respecting_ him, even though those two are completely different…'not my place'? Can you imagine Dark, the idiotic Dark that we, unfortunately, know, saying something like that? Or even just him angsting in a respectable manner? Or being even _remotely_ responsible in any way? …wow, I hate to say it, but I think this is the coolest I've ever seen him. It's just too bad it wasn't actually him."

Daisuke shook his head and gave a small smile, "He's not so bad…I mean, Dark's got his good points, and his cool moments too. Just not as many and not as cool as the Dark that possessed him."

Blue eyes glanced over, "I guess, but I still like you an infinite times more than him."

"I like the both of you a lot too," clearly, the redhead missed the other possibility that that statement could've held. "Hey, earlier, you called him the black knight Dark…"

Satoshi nodded, "yea, apparently, aside from being a thief, he was someone called the black knight, you know, slayer of the bad and all that. The black knight has a pretty good reputation around this area, he's like the Robin Hood of this land, and they even have books about him in town. He's basically a legend around here. Though nowadays, people aren't sure whether he was real or not since there's never been any records of him being unmasked. Not to mention there's been no evidence of his existence, except the deeds he supposedly did of course. And except for the fact that _we_ know who was, according to these journals anyways."

He stared in disbelief, "And he was _Dark __Mousy_?"

"I know it's hard to imagine, but I'm not exactly unconvinced, not after what I saw just now…Dark had such an amazing ancestor, how did he turn out like _this_?"

The ruby eyed boy turned and faced the door that the cooler Dark had gone through and gave a laugh, "oh look, modern day Dark's back."

The elder boy stretched as he headed into the kitchen, "I'm hungry, what's there to eat? Dai-chan, make me something before I starve to death!"

Satoshi held back a sigh, "Welcome back Dark…"

Violet eyes blinked, "welcome back? Why? Did I go somewhere or did something happen without or to me again?"

The redhead shrugged, "if you count you chasing away a hostile ghost something, then yes, something happened." When he received a confused look, he gave a small smile, "you know the Dark Mousy whose journal you've been reading?"

Dark nodded, "yea, he's a guard for some attractive person by day and a thief slash the black knight by night…though from my family's more or less recorded history, he was only ever recognized as the thief…"

The younger boy raised his brows in approval at his recitation of knowledge and nodded, "Right, that one. Well just now, you were possessed by him."

"Again," Satoshi added helpfully.

"Again," the shorter boy echoed, "and while he possessed you, you know the ghost that threw the plates at you? He scared him off, which was pretty cool actually."

He gave an absentminded nod, "that's interesting and all. You know, 'and all' being the relief that I'll get from knowing that I won't have random ghosts throwing plates at me anymore, but my stomach's still empty and I think that takes top priority."

The blue haired boy snorted, "Well, it's definitely Dark again."

"That's not curing my hunger!"

Daisuke sighed and headed for the stove, "I get it. I'll go fix something up for you…"

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_There've been rumors of war lately. I hope they remain rumors. The young master's health has been declining as of lately, the medicine we have around here are starting to lose their effect. If a war does start, this could prove to be a terrible obstacle for the guard if he gets sent to fetch more herbs. But he'll do it. I know he will without a second thought. Despite knowing this, I can't help but worry. If he were to be caught or killed, what would become of the young master?_

* * *

(Dark's)

_Unexpected things have been happening as of lately. First there was all that talk about war and then earlier today, the lord offered to dub me as a knight. It was pleasantly surprising at first, until I heard the terms. I was to be a knight under his younger son's command, apparently he's heard talk about my fighting abilities, which I admit, are admirable, but I refused the post. Lucky for me, he was willing to hear me out as opposed to chopping my head off on the spot. And since I'm writing this, the reason I gave him appealed to him enough to let me continue doing as I please. _

_I told him that I couldn't be anyone else's guard, and that my loyalty lay with his eldest son. That was basically what I said in fewer words. I don't think I'll be telling him about what happened today, he's already down as it is. Maybe it's the rain, he's been looking rather pale as of lately…_

* * *

(Daisuke's)

_There've been a lot more armoured men walking around. I asked Dark about it and he told me that there may be battles in the future. When these battles do occur, would he have to go out and fight with the rest of the men?_

_I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days. I'm constantly awakened by my own coughing. It's probably just a cold. I don't think I should bring this up with Dark, he's already beside himself with anxiety. I'll give it a couple of days, it should pass by then._

* * *

The redhead blinked when he reached the last entry. Not wanting to wake anyone up, he crept down the stairs and into the library in attempt to find more information regarding the events that followed.

* * *

(Dark's)

_War has broken out. It'll be difficult for me to go out now, what with all the ambushes and armed soldiers waiting and lurking around every corner. I made a trip the other night and was nearly caught again. Luckily, the guy must've been drinking because he couldn't even swing his sword straight. Luck's been on my side up until now, but when it runs out, I'm probably going to have to pull off a pretty crazy miracle to get back in one piece…_

* * *

_There's something wrong with him. _

_He's become bedridden and the medicine we have aren't working. Every time I offered to bring him something, he'd shake his head stubbornly and he'd latch onto my hand with that worried look in his eyes. It scares me how weak his grip is. He's an idiot for worrying about me when he's the one who can't stay asleep for over an hour before his own coughing wakes him up._

* * *

_I am at a lost for what to do. I can clearly see how sick he's become. His eyes have dulled, his skin's pale and he looks exactly like what he currently is: a person who hasn't been able to eat or sleep in days. The servant in charge of tending to him came up to me and told me what I already knew. He needs new medicine, and he needs it soon. I've already found out where to obtain the ingredients for it but actually getting there and back will be the real challenge._

_In amidst this war, no one will be able to tell whose side I'm on, and I'm on neither side… Before, this wouldn't have been a problem at all. The worst thing that would've happened if I died would be that he'd be lonely, and that'd always been enough to keep me going. But this time, if I fail, I'm not the only one who will sleep forever. _

_I have to make it back._

* * *

_I told him about what I was going to go, and of course, he tried to protest. It haunts me that even his voice has grown weak. I offered him the only comfort I could. I told him that I'd be careful and avoid unnecessary battles. I promised him I'd be back to do something only I can do, with or without the medicine. Thinking about it now, maybe I shouldn't have made a promise that I may not be able to keep…but he smiled when I told him. And now that I've made this promise to him, I can't very well go back on my word. Even the thought of it-no, I'll get the ingredients and come right back. I will…I must._

* * *

Dark's brows furled as he flipped the page only to find it blank. Giving a huff of annoyance, he decided to leave his room and head for the library to look for something else, an answer maybe, simply because he didn't like being kept in suspense. When he reached the main floor, he blinked when he caught a glimpse of red in the library, "Dai?"

The shorter boy looked over, "Dark? You couldn't sleep?"

He shook his head, "I just finished reading this and the ending sucks. It's like a cliffhanger with no sequel or anything."

Daisuke nodded sympathetically, "mine too. I wonder if Satoshi-kun will be finished soon, I mean, he does read faster than most people. I guess that just means the writer of his journal outlived both of ours. Let's wait for him, he'll probably come down when he's done."

The elder boy grinned, "that's cute, Dai-chan, having so much faith in the creep."

A faint blush crept onto his face, "what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, I think I'm going to look around and see if there's anything else on the black knight and stuff. Have you heard from the not-evil ghost lately?"

The redhead shook his head, "the last time I saw him was in the kitchen when you were possessed and scaring away poltergeists, but he couldn't see either of you. I found it really weird. I thought he'd be able to, but he disappeared halfway through the confrontation and I don't know where he's gone."

Dark looked up thoughtfully, "maybe it's because after all this time he…"

Daisuke turned his head and blinked, "what?"

The taller boy gave a start and turned his attention to the redhead, "what?"

"…never mind."

* * *

(Satoshi's)

_Dark Mousy has left and all we can do is wait. The young master is beside himself with worry despite his own illness. I have the utmost faith in the guard and his abilities, but I also have to look at this realistically, unfortunately. The chances of him surviving aren't very high, not with men blindly attacking on both sides of the battlefield. If he succeeds, he should be back within a day or two. But again, thinking about it rationally, if he does not make it back…_

_What am I to do?_

* * *

_A day has passed, and there's been no sign of Dark Mousy. And the young master's condition continues to worsen._

* * *

_Another day has passed, he has yet to return but the young master insists that he will keep his promise. But there's something about the way he said it, perhaps it was his eyes that gave him away and I'm fearing now for the worst._

* * *

_Indeed, the young master knew before anyone else did. Dark Mousy is dead. Another day has passed and I have heard the soldiers talking as I walked by this morning. The black knight had been slain two nights ago. No one knows who killed him, no one knows where he's been buried, or if he was buried at all. But gathering what the soldiers have said, it was an accident and whoever defeated him recognized his armor afterwards. Perhaps they were villagers that killed him, or even a knight on our side. Whoever did the deed was said to have unmasked him, only to put the helmet back on. And to honor him, they will never speak a word of the black knight again, not of his name, not of his burial site, and not of his death. _

_The legend of the black knight will live on._

_And his identity will forever remain a secret._

* * *

_A week has gone by and I've been too busy to write. It's a miracle that the young master is still alive. The medicine we have no longer have any effect on him. He's in insufferable pain throughout the day, and it goes on until it gets to the point where he loses consciousness. It's unbearable merely watching his writhing and coughing. Why does he continue to suffer? Is he truly going to wait for Dark Mousy as he said he would? But he already knows that his guard has been slain…_

_What am I to do?_

* * *

_I couldn't bear it anymore. He was in so much pain, living merely on the promise that his guard was supposed to fulfill…I had to stop it, for my own sake if not for his. He was looking at me when I did it. There was no anger in his eyes, but I can't help but feel haunted by them. At least he's finally stopped suffering. After all these years, he doesn't have to feel any pain anymore. The guards will be coming for me soon. My deed will be known to the entire household soon enough, and I will have to face the consequences of my crime. _

_The young master will not be able to truly rest, but perhaps someday_

* * *

Blue eyes narrowed at the last, incomplete sentence. He closed the book with a huff and sat there for a moment in order to digest all the information he'd just been presented with. Running a hand through his hair, he decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, and so, headed down the stairs to get a drink. But when he walked down the staircase, he could see that the lights in the library were still on, and he ventured inside, "Hm? You guys are still up?"

Daisuke looked over at Dark triumphantly, "I told you he'd come down after he finished."

A snort, "Lucky guess."

Satoshi raised a brow, "so why are you guys in here?"

Dark shot him a lazy grin, "we finished reading, couldn't sleep and decided to come down here to find something else to read. But now that you're here, I'm hoping we'll get some answers, or I'm hoping that at least _I'll_ get some answers since I know I won't be able to sleep without knowing what happens."

He shrugged and took a seat, "that's fine, I can't sleep either, so let's put everything together from the beginning."

The redhead crossed his legs, "well, in the beginning to the journal I got, there was this guy who wasn't noticed by anyone."

"The person I, or Dark…or black knight Dark was guarding. I don't think his name was ever written down."

Satoshi nodded, "He was just called 'the young master' in my journal. And he seemed pretty frail since he was poisoned by some guy in an attempt to murder him so that he could gain control of this place."

Dark grinned excitedly, "But he was killed by my ancestor."

"Yes, he was killed. Not that anyone did anything about it…"

* * *

The three continued weaving the story together until they reached the end, when the war was about to break out. Daisuke shook his head, "that's when mine ends. He knew he was getting sick but passed it off as nothing."

The elder looked up at the ceiling, they were all getting tired. "Yea, and then he got really sick and none of the medicine worked like they were supposed to. So my guy had to go get some new ingredients or something. And he said that he'd be back, but then it ends there, so I'm guessing he didn't make it back."

Satoshi nodded in agreement, "well clearly, the writer of my journal lived longer than yours. So Dark, your guy dies first, then things get worse for Daisuke's guy but he keeps on living until my guy kills him." That earned him very shocked looks from the other two, "it's true, I don't know how he killed him, but he did it to put an end to his suffering. Then he was probably sentenced to death for killing a noble. But…he did write that '_the __young __master __will __not be able to truly __rest'_…"

Daisuke frowned, "he's still waiting…he's waiting for his everything which was…"

The younger pair turned to look at Dark, causing him to sit up in alarm, "why are you looking at me? _I'm_ not his everything, the other Dark was!" When the two continued staring at him, he frowned, "what?"

"Dark…you've been possessed by the other Dark twice now, and he's said it himelf, he knows why he's back. He's probably been haunting your family for generations now, through all those lives and people, waiting for this chance…"

Violet eyes darkened slightly, "'_I __told __him __I'd __be __back __to __do __something __only __I __could __do, __with __or __without __the __medicine_'." He groaned and cradled his head, "why me? Does the ghost even know if I'm _the_ Dark Mousy he's waiting for?"

The redhead shrugged, "I don't know, he probably knows you as Dark Mousy based on your resemblance or something, but I don't know if he's actually waiting for you or what. Not that I can ask him since he hasn't been around for awhile now…" He furled his brows and urged his friend, "come on Dark, we're so close and we don't have much time left. We have to figure this out…or else he-no, _they'll_ have to wait even longer."

Dark gave an irritated groan, "I know, I know, I'm thinking but nothing's clicking. We'll definitely figure this out before summer ends, don't worry about it. Can't you just get him to possess me again or something? I mean, if he really wants this done, he should just do it himself, right? He knows all of this better than any of us."

"I think something has to happen, you know, to evoke it. I don't know though, I'm still not an expert at this…let's just keep thinking."

Soon, the three found themselves fast asleep in the library.

"…_it's __been __so __long__…__are __you __still__…__?"_

* * *

The next day, he was rudely awakened by the sound of birds chirping. Dark sat up with a groan only to discover that the sun was high in the sky and the other two had disappeared already. Dragging his feet into the kitchen, he munched on the piece of toast that'd been set in front of him tiredly. When the redhead asked if he'd come up with anything, he shook his head with an incoherent grunt.

Satoshi shot him an almost concerned look before sighing, "come on, a walk outside will probably do all of us good. I mean, we might as well enjoy the sun while it's still up." And with that said, he and Daisuke dragged the half conscious boy out the door and into the garden. He looked over at the redhead, "actually, there's something that's been bugging me…"

Crimson eyes blinked, "what is it?"

"It was written somewhere that 'the young master' showed Dark his room, which implies that it was supposed to be a secret or something, or at least very few people knew about it. I was just wondering which room it was…"

Daisuke looked up at the sky, "that's a good question…" he looked over at Dark, who was still munching on his breakfast and smiled, "we'll figure it out. But other than that, I wanted to thank you for letting us stay with you this summer. I'm really glad I got to meet Satoshi-kun."

The blue haired boy returned the smile, "I'm glad I got to meet you too…and even Dark, I guess." He paused, "…maybe you two would be able to spend next summer here again?"

The redhead nodded happily, "I'd love to, and I'm sure Dark would as well."

Dark gave a tired yawn and threw the last bite of his breakfast into his mouth as he stared dazedly at the house. The two simply took his gestures as a sign that he agreed with what they were saying.

* * *

They spent the next few days trying to come up with where the secret room was located. They searched everywhere only to come out empty handed. Then one night, Satoshi sighed, "maybe it was destroyed or renovated…"

Dark shook his head, "No, I doubt it."

The two looked over at him, "and how would you know?"

A lazy grin and shrug, "call it Dark's intuition."

Satoshi raised a brow, "that thing again?"

Daisuke paused and contemplated for a moment, "wait, Satoshi-kun, when we got here, didn't Dark have the urge to unlock the wardrobe with all the medicine? And he's the one who picked thr room too…maybe his intuition's actually…"

The redhead's comment caused the two of them to stare at Dark again. He furled his brows and let out a yell, "what? First you make fun of me and now you want me to work my intuition? Well you can just…" he stopped and stared at the floor in concentration as words and pictures suddenly began flooding his mind.

"_The young master showed Dark his room, which implies that it was supposed to be a secret or something, or at least very few people knew about it…"_

"_I __was __just __wondering __which __room __it __was__…__"_

"_There __was __someone __watching __us __from a w__indow __upstairs__…__"_

"_I __hate __that __room__…__"_

"…_it's __just __a __feeling, l__ike __something's just __not __right. __I'm __not __sure __whether __it's __the __room __or __something __in __the __room, __but __either __something __in __there __isn't __good __or __something __in __there __isn't __as __it's __supposed __to __be__…__"_

_That busy corridor…that lonely figure…_

"…_you __can __see __me__…__?"_

_That room he didn't recognize, relatively large and spacious, a single bed, a single wardrobe and a single desk in sight…_

_A sparrow…_

"_Aren't __you __a fraid __it'll __fly __away?"_

_Golden hair…_

"_I __guess __it's __time __for __me __to __set __you __free__…__"_

_Golden eyes…_

"…_if we were in a similar situation, would you set me free?"_

_That smile…_

"…_if __you __have __nothing, __then__…__then __I'll __be __your __everything__…__"_

_It's been so long…are you still…?_

"_I'll __be __back__…__"_

Dark gave a jolt, snapping back to reality with widened eyes, causing the two to jump in shock, "…Dark?"

"_I __promise__…__"_

He looked at the two before getting up urgently, "…I know where it is."

* * *

Nya

A long chapter, sorry if it's confusing, and now it's more or less: the climax! Which means this fic is almost done! This isn't the most romance-y fic I've written, is it? Other htan that, school's almost starting...boo... Not to mention my main harddrive, the one where I keep my upcoming chapters and pictures and all that, it screwed itself up and wiped out _everything_ so I've lost _everything_, which annoys me to no extent. But yea, anyways, enough of my angry ranting, I was in Hawaii by the way, and I miss it lots. Err, _anyways..._

Thank you to those who are still reading and of course, many thanks and all my love to all the reviewers! Enjoy!


	10. Chapter 9 & Epilogue

The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 9:

The two exchanged glanced and quickly got up and followed the elder as he left the room. They watched as Dark made his way into the library and blinked, "Why the library?"

Dark didn't bother answering as he made his way to the shelves that stood against the far wall and began tugging at one until it began moving to the side. After he pried it away, he moved to push away the one next to it. Satoshi's eyes widened at the sight of a doorway appearing in place of the shelves, "…all this time there's been another room in here?" They watched as the taller boy stood in front of the uncovered path, "should we go with him or something?"

Daisuke shook his head and stayed where he was, "that's not our Dark anymore."

* * *

_It's been so long…are you still…?_

He could feel his heart beating…no, it wasn't his heart beat. It was the boy's. The one who was named after him and carried his blood in his veins. Letting his breath out for a moment, he traced the stone frame of the doorway and looked up at the stairs that led up the unlit path. Nothing save a small window near the top shed any light in the secret corridor, which was now thoroughly decorated in cobwebs and dust. He mentally scolded himself for being so easily distracted from his task at hand, but continued staring at the stairs nonetheless. There was nothing he wanted more than to run up those stairs…

So why wouldn't his feet move?

_I'm scared…of what? Not finding anything up there? This is pathetic, it's been so long and I'm finally here, I've got nothing left to lose. …what if he's angry at me for taking such a long time? What if he's not there…? What if he's…?_

Running a hand through his hair, he gave an exasperated sigh, "I'm being stupid," he silently chided himself. So, mustering all the courage he could, he began climbing the stairs. As he ascended, the cobweb and mustiness of the stairway began to fade away and sunlight began streaming through the small window up above. He could hear birds chirping outside. A small, excited smile tugged at his lips when he realized that they were sparrows.

_Home…_

His feet began moving faster on their own accord. This feeling, he knew this feeling…it was the same as when he returned from his late night job. When he returned to the house, he'd carelessly toss the helmet down and whatever else he was holding and run up those stairs. Listening to his boots as he made his way up, he always had a smile on his face when he imagined what he'd see on the other side of the door. When he finally reached the wooden panel that blocked his way, he'd throw back his hood as he opened the door.

_It's been so long, I wonder, are you still waiting for me?_

* * *

_In that spacious room, nothing had changed. _

_A surprising amount of sunlight poured in through that single window in the wall. And in amidst that sunlight, in front of that window, the blond stood there longingly, eyes fixated on the unreachable sky. A fond smile made its way to his lips, "what's with that face? Were you so certain that your knight in shining armour would never return?"_

_The other turned around with a start. Golden eyes widening at the sight of him, his mouth opened but it took awhile for the name to come tumbling out, "…Dark?" _

"_I'm __back__…__"_

_The boy continued staring at him, eyes confused but delighted at the same time, "Is it really you? But how…?"_

_He gave a weak grin. It was all he could do to stop himself from laughing and crying from the overwhelming joy he felt, "I promised you, didn't I?" The two stared at each other for a moment before he walked over, taking off his glove as he did and tucked the other's hair behind his ear before cupping his face, "I've made you wait for so long…"_

_Golden eyes narrowed slightly to hold back the tears as he surged forward into an embrace, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again…I waited…even after I heard you were killed…"_

_Holding the other tight, he breathed in the scent of vanilla that he missed so much. "I know…I know. I'm so sorry. You must've been lonely being here on your own. But I'm here now, so you can finally stop waiting. After all this time, I'm finally back and I'll never leave you alone again. I'll be your everything again, alright? I'm going to set you free." He smiled as he pulled out of the embrace enough to look at the other, "Actually, I didn't even know if I'd get to see you again, Krad…"_

_The blond paused and stared at him with wide eyes, "…just now…that name…"_

_He gave a light grin, "don't give me that look. Like I said, I promised you, didn't I? I promised you that I'd come back with or without the medicine, and when I did, you'll hear your name being called over and over again: Hikari Krad. Krad, Krad, Krad, I've missed you so much." He paused and watched the other, "…well? Aren't you going to keep your half of the promise?"_

_Golden eyes blinked, "What?"_

_The room around them was growing dim and dust began reappearing on the untouched furniture. Crimson began appearing on the bed and walls, telling of murder that only few knew of. Saddened amethyst eyes looked away, blood began appearing from his neck from the arrows that had pierced him and that sword that had cut him during his last moments. He ignored it all and laughed. "Didn't you promise me that you'd be here to welcome me back with a smile?"_

"_Ah__…__" __golden __eyes __blinked __in __realization __before __a __smile __slowly graced those pale lips. __He __was __no __longer __able __to __run __his __hands __through __silky __tresses of gold __as __they __became __caked __in __blood. At the same time, t__he __injury __on __his __chest began __revealing __itself __through bright, thick, __crimson __liquid. __There __was __a __soft __whisper __in __his __ear __as __the two __blood drenched __figures __embraced, __"welcome __back, __Dark."_

_At last…you don't have to wait anymore._

* * *

Amethyst eyes opened to the sound of sparrows chirping outside. Sitting up, he looked around only to realize that he was in a room that he didn't recognize. The place was covered in dust and was surprisingly well lit by a single window. He blinked when something dripped from his face and wiped his eyes only to find himself crying. "Huh? Where am I?"

After a few minutes, the other two appeared at the door, "Dark, are you alright?"

He looked over and nodded, "I think…it's all over now."

The redhead dipped his head in agreement, "it seems that way…he's gone. I guess this was his room…he was probably killed here too. Look, you can still see the bloodstains on the walls," he pointed to the wall beside the bed with a cringe.

Satoshi frowned, "you're crying…did you see any of it, Dark?"

Dark rubbed the back of his neck, "I think I did…but that might've been a dream, I'm not sure anymore. The room was really bright and there were voices…or something."

The blue haired boy sighed, "how useless but expected of you. I bet you didn't catch his name either."

The elder shook his head, "does that mean we'll never know it?"

"Basically, idiot."

Daisuke walked around the room as the two bickered. He headed towards the desk and blinked curiously at the drawers. Pulling them open, he found pieces of paper with familiar writing on them, each with only a sentence or two written on.

_Dark…_

_Please be careful._

_Please come back alive._

_Thank you for being my everything._

_I'll continue waiting until I hear you call my name…_

Ruby eyes saddened at the words when realized that they were probably written after the black knight's final mission. But as he sifted through the paper and reached the bottom of the drawer, he blinked at the letters carved at the bottom.

_Your name will not end with me,_

Squinting, he barely made out the name that had been scratched into the wood.

* * *

"_Dark, __what __are __you __doing __to __my __desk?"_

_The guard looked over and grinned as he put his knife away, "come and take a look."_

_Golden eyes blinked and walked over, "…why would you carve that in there?"_

_His eyes softened, "Because you're a ghost to everyone but me, and this will change it. Years from now, when we're both gone, someone will find this and know your name. Your name will not end with me."_

* * *

"Hey Dai-chan, aren't they having a festival in town tomorrow?"

The redhead snapped out of his trance and put the papers back, "Huh?"

Satoshi looked over, "there's a festival for the black knight tomorrow, it'll go on for the entire day or something."

The elder gave an excited grin, "Yea! They're celebrating me!"

A scoff, "you only wish."

Daisuke laughed and closed the drawer, "let's go check it out. Summer's almost over anyways."

That night, Dark looked up at the ceiling and frowned, he didn't know why, but he felt sadness overcome him.

* * *

_He could always hear coughing coming from the room above his, keeping him awake. Grabbing the medicine, he'd make his way upstairs only to find the other awake._

"…_Dark__…__?"_

_He'd sit on the edge of the bed and help the other sit up, "here…drink this. It should help sooth your coughing at least a little…I'll go get you stronger medicine tomorrow."_

_The other shook his head weakly, "don't go…"_

_He smiled softly, "don't worry, I'll be careful and I'll try to avoid the battles, alright? And when I come back, you'll hear me call your name over and over again. I'll be telling you how much I missed you and I'll have even more stories to tell you, wouldn't that be nice?"_

_The frown remained._

"_Please promise __me __that __when __I __come __back, __you'll __welcome __me __back __with __a __smile, alright? __If __you __promise __me __this, then __I'll definitely __come __back __without __fail, __with __or __without __the __medicine."_

_A nod and as soft smile appeared, "Fine, I promise…just please…come back."_

"_I __will__…__"_

_The next night, he left a rose on the other's bed and left._

* * *

Dark frowned, "why am I still remembering this stuff if they're already gone?" Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie by music that floated into his room from outside. Getting up, he walked over to the stairway to see the clavichord keys being struck. He sat down at the top of the stairs and gave a content sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying the melody.

After the song ended, the figure stood up and looked at the figure that was asleep at the top of the staircase and smiled.

_Thank you._

And that was the last time anyone heard or saw the Hikari ghost.

* * *

Epilogue:

"Ah…we lost Dark already."

Satoshi sighed, "I guess it can't be helped, he acts even more like a kid when he gets excited."

Daisuke blinked, "aren't _you_ excited? The black knight was a guard at your house, and he's a legend around here now. If you wanted to, you could put a name and face to him."

He thought about it for a moment then shook his head, "if the people that killed him didn't reveal his identity, why should I? That way, the legend of the black knight will live on…"

* * *

Dark blinked when he ended up in the 'famous thief' exhibition and stumbled onto a picture of one of the prime suspects.

_Dark Mousy: A striking young man with admirable combat skills and known for being a notorious womanizer. He spent his youth chasing women and fighting as a freelancer. However, the latter part of his life remains unknown as he disappeared from the town. Rumors of him becoming a knight, a thief, a prince have all be told. From the witnesses, he was most likely to be the thief. _

_His motives for thieving: Romanticized stories have been told that Dark Mousy had fallen in love with a young maiden, possibly a noble's daughter or a princess. And in order to woo her, he went out and stole valuables to present to her._

He scoffed, "at least they got part of it relatively right…" then he studied the portrait for a moment and grinned, "Not bad. Handsome, charming, I can see the resemblance."

As he moved on to the next exhibition, walking past the people in costumes, he caught a whiff of something and turned around only to see golden strands disappear into the crowd.

Without thinking, he followed.

* * *

"Hey look, there's an exhibition on your household!"

Blue eyes looked over, "Huh? What could they possibly have?"

Daisuke shrugged, "let's go check it out."

When they arrived, they began reading through the information provided. Satoshi suddenly let out a laugh, "there's only one part mentioned about the ghost, 'it is rumored that the Hikari mansion remains haunted to this day by a boy of unknown origins. This nameless ghost has been known to look out of the top window of the house as though waiting for someone.' How ironic, more people notice him after he became a ghost."

The redhead smiled, "too bad they'll never see him again."

"Too bad we didn't figure out his name, it must suck to be completely wiped out of history."

Crimson eyes looked away wistfully, "yea…maybe one day we'll find it…"

Satoshi glanced at the redhead before tugging on the other's hand, "come on, I think there's a jousting competition over there."

Daisuke blinked at their hands before smiling, "that sounds cool, let's go watch!"

* * *

Weaving through the crowd, he followed the other into a clearing when he finally managed to latch onto the blonde's arm, startling the other. He stared wordlessly as the other turned around, wide golden eyes staring at him, "…yes? Can I help you with something?"

With his mind blank, he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head, "I-I'm Dark Mousy, the black knight and thief."

The blond shot him an amused look, "are you sure you're not just a pervert?"

His brows furled as he frowned, "hey, I'm not a pervert! And that wasn't what I meant to say, I meant to offer to be your black knight but obviously, it sounded better in my head."

The other laughed, "I don't need a black knight…is your name really Dark Mousy?" A nod. "Then you're related to…"

"Dark Mousy? Yea, I'm pretty sure I am, I mean, I was named after him and all."

"That's interesting…my name's Krad."

Dark looked around, "Krad, hm? So what are you doing here?"

The blond studied him for a moment before turning around, "I'm not going to tell you. You don't look like you can keep a secret."

Frowning, he let out a protest, "Yes I can! I swear I can!"

After a moment, there was a sigh, "fine, come along then." As the two walked, golden eyes looked back, "why'd you follow me anyways?"

Dark shrugged, "I thought I knew you or something, I guess. Anyways, I know I'm going to sound like a creeper but you smell good."

Krad was silent for a second, "yea, you're right. You _do_ sound like a creeper."

"I know, I know, so why are we out here?"

A soft smile, "because I hate being cooped up. I must've been a caged bird in my past life because I can't stand being surrounded by walls. And I guess that's how I ended up finding this place…"

Dark blinked when he realized that they'd arrived at another place where all the grass went up past his waist. There was no one around and the blond was kneeling by a rock, "what are you doing?"

"Paying my respects."

He walked over and looked down only to find a rusted suit of armor though some of the original color could still be seen. Black. "Is this…?"

Krad glanced over at him, "it's the final resting place of the black knight, you have to promise not to tell anyone though."

Amethyst eyes stayed trained on the armor, "…did you figure out who it was?"

A nod, "his initials were carved into his sword, but judging by your reaction, I'm guessing you know who he was as well…Dark Mousy. All the more reason why you shouldn't tell…this way, the legend of the black knight will live on."

A breeze blew by and he stood there, mesmerized by the strands of gold that flowed with the wind. "Hey Krad," he blurted without thinking, "do you think I could be your everything?"

Golden eyes widened as he looked over, "what?"

Dark didn't falter as he continued watching the blond, "I mean, can I be your knight? I know we just met and all but I've already decided that I want to be around you as much as possible."

The other stood and dusted himself off, "You really are a pervert-"

"Not in a perverted way! I'll protect you!"

Krad stared at the other, standing there under the sun, he muttered in awe, "you really do look like a knight…"

Amethyst eyes blinked, "What?"

The blond shook his head, he could feel his face heating up. "Nothing! What would I need protection from? Anyways, I'm a guy, I can take care of myself. Come on, let's head back, you creeper."

"I'm not a creeper!"

As another breeze blew by, Dark paused as he caught the scent again.

Noticing that the other had stopped, Krad looked back, "what are you doing? Some knight _you'd_ make."

Dark looked over and grinned, "So you're accepting the fact that I'm your knight now?"

The blond turned away embarrassedly, "As if!"

He smiled to himself as he followed the other back to the festival.

The scent was vanilla.

* * *

Nya~

Well, I finished another story! Yay! And my exams are over! So yay, free time! Um...other than that, thank you to everyone who read this, reviewed, laughed, cried, and all that jazz! If you're confused, as Dark went up the stairs, he basically went back in time, and when they disappeared, they returned to their real state (dead). And by carving Krad's name into the desk, Dark's keeping Krad's name alive, and alive!Krad is returning the favor by not telling people about the secret grave. Now that this is done, I guess it's time to start new fics and finish old ones because I must admit, I still love DN Angel though the fandom seems to have died off a bit. Oh well! I hope everyone enjoyed this!

Thank you for reading!


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